MORE than £120,000 has been distributed to community groups in the North-East.

The cash will be used to fund events across the region from next week, marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The funding has come from the £12.3m Home Front Recall scheme, a joint initiative from the Big Lottery Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The scheme is supporting activities commemorating the part played by those on the Home Front in the war, including firefighters, nurses, dock workers and ex-service clubs.

Grants will fund a diverse range of projects celebrating 60 years since Victory in Europe in the coming weeks and months.

A grant of £10,571 has been awarded to the Headland Development Corporation, in Hartlepool, and will fund two projects.

The first, a community singing troop, will perform songs from the 1940s at VE Day celebrations, care homes and sheltered accommodation in the area.

The second project involves creating a commemorative magazine including interviews with war veterans, wartime recipes, 1940s advertisements and headline news taken from the week the war ended.

The Brandon Community Partnership, near Durham, will use its £15,088 grant to fund several events throughout the summer.

There will be 1940s re-enactments, school history projects, theatre workshops and a street party that will bring together war veterans and local children.

Meanwhile, organisations, veterans, widows and widowers who are interested in Home Front Recall or Heroes Return grants for commemoration trips and events marking the 60th anniversary should apply before May 31.

Details are available by calling 08454 102030.