VULNERABLE people in the West Wight will be further helped during the coronavirus situation — thanks to a £10,000 grant.

The National Emergencies Trust (NET) has partnered with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF) to award West Wight Sports and Community Centre a grant of £10,000 to help those most affected by the crisis.

Thanks to the grant, more than 500 vulnerable people will continue to receive essential help from the West Wight Coronavirus Support Hub.

The hub is managed by a team of representatives from local churches, staff and volunteers from the centre and Freshwater Parish Council.

It operates from the centre and the grant will ensure the service can continue when it re-opens as a sports centre.

The hub currently co-ordinates 310 volunteers, whose roles include delivering prescriptions, providing a shopping service, relieving loneliness through regular phone calls, providing a helpline for practical problems such as appliance repairs, cooking and delivering hot lunches, and sewing scrubs for care homes and face masks for members of the public.

Clare Griffin, manager of WWSCC, said: “Thank you very much to NET and HIWCF for providing this funding, which is essential to ensure we are able to carry out our services/project and make a real difference to people’s lives."

Jonathan Cheshire, HIWCF chairman, said “We are delighted to support WWSCC in their work to help those in need in the local community."