DESERVING groups and sports people from the area were given a lift by Wyre Forest District Council’s Xpression grant scheme.

The latest round of the beneficial leisure and arts grant scheme has seen an up-and-coming skier and two community organisations given a share of the £1,950 pot.

The biggest recipient was theatre group Cookley Local Agenda 21, which received £1,000.

The money will be used to help fund a performance on the village’s canalside.

The 15th Kidderminster Scout Troop has been given £700 to help pay for sport and first aid equipment.

Stourport’s rising skiing star Ashley Breese, 12, has been given £250.

So far Xpression has given out nearly £9,000 to deserving individuals and groups in sport, leisure and the arts.

The scheme incorporates the Ray Mercer Sporting Foundation, set up by the Shuttle/Times & News in 1995, which distributed more than £25,000 to those needing support.

Applicants have to meet certain criteria, including being a resident, at school, or a member of a club from the Wyre Forest district and provide full details of why the grant is needed.

New initiatives, projects which develop opportunities or potential, or help organisations towards achieving their goals are more likely to succeed.

Application forms can be found via the online link, left, at www.wyrefor est.gov.uk or by calling Penny Hamilton-Gray on 01562 732970. The deadline for applications for the next round of grants is Friday, December 12. They will be considered by a panel which sits three times a year.

Things are going the opposite of downhill for Stourport skier Ashley Breese, who has been boosted by a £250 grant from Xpression.

The money will be used to help pay for the 12-year-old Stourport High School pupil’s involvement at an international tournament in the Czech Republic in January.

The grant is another boost for Ashley, who has tasted victory in the Scottish Alpine Ski and England Dry Slope Championships so far this year.

Mother Cheryl Breese said: “It costs a lot of money to compete abroad and buy equipment, so it’s great to get some support from the council.”

This year Ashley, who is a member of the British Children’s Ski team, wil begin his preparations for the 2012 Junior Winter Olympics with a ten-week training course.

Ashley has been skiing since the age of six and is coached by father Richard.