THE New Forest Junior Athletic Club can go from strength to strength after securing a £5,000 award from the National Lottery.

Their successful application to the Awards for All organisation means they can now purchase extra equipment plus pay for some courses and recreation membership.

NFJAC has come on in leaps and bounds since it was launched in September last year following the amalgamation of two small coaching groups based in the Forest.

Following discussions with New Forest District Council, Applemore College was made available as a training base and there was a commitment to develop facilities should the club prove successful.

Valuable initial sponsorship was secured from the Leeds and Holbeck Building Society and local business and, in addition, the NFJAC boasts one of the best natural training facilities in the country - namely the New Forest.

Once the club had been formed, over 50 youngsters began turning up on a regular basis and during the summer there were successes gained in school and club competitions along with the Hampshire County Championships.

Two locally trained girls even reached English Schools' finals at Sheffield in July - Southampton City pair Rhiannon Burden finishing fourth in the 200m and Ceri Mitchell eighth in the 800m.

With the help of the cash award the club will now be able to offer most youngsters in the New Forest area, regardless of club, training for the full range of events without having to travel to either Southampton or Bournemouth.

Any parents of youngsters interested in joining should contact Tim Wilding on 023 8084 8914.