THE Friends of ShopMobility in Hartlepool have the money to buy a much-needed scooter thanks to £500 from the town's Middleton Grange Shopping Centre.

The ShopMobility scheme allows people free use of manual and powered wheelchairs, and scooters, to get around the shopping centre.

Over the past three years, The Friends of ShopMobility have raised £23,000 to help fund the scheme and enable it to buy new equipment.

Now in its seventh year, ShopMobility has 2,000 members, who use the service while in the centre. It has 12 battery-powered wheelchairs, 11 battery-powered scooters, 12 manual wheelchairs and a range of walking aids.

Friends chairman Terry Steadman said: "Due to continual increase in demand, ShopMobility is constantly looking to increase the number of wheelchairs and scooters available. The extra scooter will certainly make a significant improvement to our service.