A FIDDLE player from Darlington will be taking part in a musical tour of a lifetime, thanks to a grant from the Young Musicians Fund.

Clare Gale, 15, plays a fiddle which has see two world wars and a bow passed down to her from her father.

She is the recipient of the first grant from the fund to someone in Darlington.

The £250 grant donated to the fund by the Darlington Building Society, will enable Clare to travel to Luxembourg later this month, where she will perform in four concerts during a week.

The Young Musicians Fund was established by Northumbrian piper Kathryn Tickell, who felt young people were losing the opportunity to access traditional, classical and modern music.

The fund, which is managed by the Community Fund, is now worth £100,000.

It aims to improve the opportunities for young musicians by providing grants for music lessons, instruments and youth bands.

Clare said: "A trip like this is invaluable. I will gain so much experience, which is important, because I want to follow music as a career."

The talented musician hopes to go to St Mary's College, in Edinburgh, next year.

She took her GCSE music examination a year early, and is now awaiting the results of her AS level examination.