A popular childcare club has been saved from the axe after coming up trumps on the National Lottery.

Redundancy packages had been arranged for the carers at Kidzone in Holme Wood, Bradford, as the cash-starved group prepared to fold in May.

But the service, which provides subsidised care for many of the area's young, has learned a £235,000 lottery bid had been accepted - securing its future for the next three years.

Manager Denise Lindley said: "This is marvellous news. Everyone here - the carers, the children and the parents - is over the moon." The popular group, which was launched seven years ago and operates from the Edward's Rainbow Centre and Ryecroft Community Centre, is no stranger to funding crises.

It was originally supported by City Challenge cash and when this dried up, it secured funding from Europe.

In November last year it hit trouble again after Bradford Council turned down its £40,000 community grant application.

Mrs Lindley said: "We appealed against the decision and were later awarded £30,000. But even this would have only kept us going until May. I had already arranged the redundancy packages for our 12 carers and morale was very low." The group held out little hope for the lottery bid but heard the good news yesterday.

The group cares for dozens of youngsters before and after school as well as providing a youth club for five to 11-year-olds. It now plans to open a breakfast club for the children of the Ryecroft Primary School as well as buying its own minibus.

"We think that it is hugely important to the area. A lot of parents who were previously on the dole were able to get jobs or go back to education because they knew we offered a qualified service," said Mrs Lindley.

Under the breakfast club scheme, children would be offered cereals and toast for only 35p.

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