DISABLED youngsters across the Vale of Evesham will soon have greater access to a range of sporting, leisure and recreational facilities after local clubs received a share of £400,000.

The money, which has come from Worcestershire County Council, was secured by the Sports Partnership for Herefordshire and Worcestershire through the Short Breaks Transformation Programme.

It means that the partnership has been able to drive forward an expansion of both new and existing mainstream and specialist provision for children with a disability outside normal school hours and so far, five local clubs will directly benefit.

One of these is Evesham’s Sub Aqua Club, which has received £23,417 to buy specialist equipment that will allow it to set up a disability scuba-diving club.

Club chairman Tim Jeynes said: “The funds have been spent on specialist lightweight equipment which will allow disabled youngsters to enjoy an underwater experience.

“With the support of club staff, less able-bodied children also have the chance to pursue further training if they want to.

“We have already provided a scuba experience for eight disabled children since receiving the money and the look on their faces was fantastic.”

He added: “In the long term, we would like to get some integration between disabled and able-bodied people participating in the sport at the same time. The idea of allowing everyone to engage on an equal level is very important.

“We are working with Regency High School in Worcester but once the system is in place, we could roll it out to more local schools and would welcome dialogue with them with a view to setting up a programme.

“As a club we have an interest in seeing young children be able to do a sport that we ourselves enjoy, plus it helps to encourage new members.”

Other Vale clubs to benefit from the funding are Evesham Rowing Club, which received £4,000 to develop an On Water programme with adapted rowing boats to cater for disabled athletes.

Evesham Vale School was given £9,200 to set up an after-school trampoline club specifically aimed at children with a disability, and a further £3,500 through the School Sports Partnership to pay for indoor rowing equipment in a project which will link up with the rowing club’s On Water programme.

Evesham Adventure Playground received £82,000 to finance a revamp of its facilities to cater for disabled users, together with supervision for specialist sessions.

Co-ordinator Heidi Deacon said: “We asked the children who attend both our disabled and non-disabled youth clubs what kind of additions they’d like to see at the adventure playground.

“In response, we have hard-surfaced the car park and installed pathways around the whole site to allow children in wheelchairs to access all the facilities. These pathways also double as a go-kart track.

“We have sunk our trampoline into the ground which makes it accessible to everyone and we are in the process of building a low-level structure for children to explore. We have also adapted an existing structure with a ramp that goes all the way to the top.

“We are popular with able and disabled kids and the changes make the whole playground more inclusive so no one feels as though they cannot participate.

“The toilets have been refurbished to allow disabled access and we anticipate all the changes to the structures will be finished in the next couple of months, at which point we will hold an open day to celebrate a new era.”

The sports partnership hopes that the new opportunities provided through this funding will enable a more flexible approach to be taken with regards to short breaks services for people with children with disabilities.

Director Steve Brewster said: “Securing such a sizeable grant is thoroughly heartening and we look forward to delivering a host of worthwhile projects.”