A VOLUNTEER project in Hartlepool is to receive a £5,000 cash boost to buy new equipment.

Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson will receive the cheque from the Abbey National Charitable Trust on behalf of the Owton Fens Community Association, on Friday.

The cash will allow the association to buy garden mowers, trimmers and strippers for its Volunteer Initiative Project, which was set up to provide painting, decorating and gardening services to the elderly and disabled residents of the Owton Manor and Fens area.

About 30 unemployed volunteers gain work experience and skills from the project, which has now been expanded to cover the whole of Hartlepool