PLAYING fields at three of the Stockton area's best-loved sports clubs are to be improved thanks to Olympic legacy grants.

Billingham Synthonthia Cricket Club will receive £32,500, Billingham Rugby Union Club will be given £46,000, and £20,000 has been allocated to Stockton Borough Council to improve the Rievaulx Recreation Ground.

The lottery money is being granted by Sport England.

The Billingham Synthonia cash will be used on a cricket square that has been in use for 100 years.

The improvements will allow the club to work with two more schools, attract players and ensure they can play on a better surface.

The money for Billingham Rugby Union Club will help it to carry out drainage work, reducing the number of junior and senior matches and training sessions that have to be cancelled.

The cash for Rievaulx Recreation Ground will sort out drainage on two pitches, tackling the problem of matches and training having to be put off due to water logging.

The announcement came as Sport England invited communities across the NorthEast to bring the 2012 legacy to life in their area by bidding for support for a local playing field through the second £2m round of the £10m Protecting Playing Fields fund.

All of the playing fields will also be protected from developers for at least 25 years.

Denis Wing, secretary of Billingham Synthonia Cricket Club, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the award.

"The square is now very tired and is in desperate need of this work.

"It will ensure that, not only can the current players look forward to playing their cricket on high-quality pitches, but generations to come will benefit also."

Stockton Borough Council's cabinet member for culture and leisure, Councillor Ken Dixon, said: "This demonstrates our continuous investment in improving playing pitches across the borough for people of all ages."