A Teesside church is one of the community groups that have been donated £69,500 in grants from a supermarket charity.

The Asda Foundation has awarded the funds to three groups in the region as part of its Investing in Spaces and Places grants.

The initiative is part of a nationwide effort, with £1.2 million in funding awarded to 65 community projects across the UK.

The grants, ranging between £10,000 and £25,000, aim to improve community spaces.

The three groups benefitting from the funding are Norton Methodist Church in Stockton (£25,000), St Luke’s Neighbourhood Trust in Pallion, Sunderland (£25,000), and Veterans Response CIC in South Shields (£19,500).

Each of these groups provides a variety of services to their local communities, from learning opportunities and social clubs to food banks and mental health support.

The funding will be used to repair and develop their buildings, creating more accessible and welcoming areas for the community.

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Karl Doyle, chair of the Asda Foundation, said: "We know that safe and inclusive spaces can be a lifeline to many in our local communities.

"They offer a way for people to be together and are the home for many vital services and activities.

"Our Community Tracker tells us that many community groups are struggling to find the funding to maintain, develop and repair these spaces and that’s where we have come in to help.

"Through our Investing in Spaces and Places grants, and the wider Asda Foundation programme, we want to continue playing our part in uniting communities and reducing loneliness by improving community spaces and bringing people together."

The Asda Community Tracker revealed more than 20 per cent of customers were concerned about the lack of community spaces in their area, with loneliness ranked as one of the biggest challenges faced by communities by more than 38 per cent of people.

Mavis Maughan, customer and community champion at Asda South Shields, said: "It was an absolute honour and a privilege to present this Asda Foundation grant for £19,500 to the Veterans Response CIC group.

"This money means the group makes some real fundamental changes to make the spaces more accessible and welcoming.

"The team here work tirelessly in the community, providing great support to veterans and the wider community."