GREENFINGERED volunteers have been given a boost in their efforts to transform an overgrown piece of land into a community woodland area.

The Skelton Villages Environment Improvement Group beat off competition from across the region to win a £1,895 grant from Northern Gas Networks, the regions gas pipeline company.

And the east Cleveland residents have used the funding to invest in much-needed tools to help them open up and create new walkways through the woodland area.

Group secretary Eileen Goodenough said: "The Skelton villages didnt have any Community Park to enjoy. This natural, but neglected woodland valley, tucked away between houses, was an eyesore, a fly tippers paradise. and a terrible waste of a valuable publicly resource.

"We have already done a lot of work creating access where none previously existed, providing a network of pathways and a new low bridge, but we were desperately in need of tools to open up the woodland and clean out scrubland.

"Now we can really start to make a difference. We hope to make the area a lot more accessible so that it can be enjoyed by all the local community."