Nearly £15,000 has been given to good causes in the Bridport area.

West Dorset District Council collected the money from people selling at the weekly car boot sales held on Sunday mornings in West Bay.

All the cash collected gets paid into the Bridport Area Car Boot Fund, which helps local groups.

Village halls, pre-schools, the citizen’s advice centre and a local ring and ride service were among those that benefited from a £14,797.50 cash boost.

Community groups that won funding were invited to a celebration tea at the Salthouse in Dorchester on September 27 to receive certificates, pictured, handed out by the chairman of West Dorset District Council and local councillor Gillian Summers.

She said: “It is wonderful to hear all the good news stories of so many diverse groups and see them benefiting not only from the money but from the networking opportunity that the celebration event provides.

“I look forward to next year’s grant programme which will be reopening in January 2015.”

Community groups in the Bridport area were invited to apply for the funds earlier this year. A panel of town and district councillors awarded the grants from the many applications received.

Good causes that have received grants included the Askers Meadow Nature Reserve who received £775 towards the cost of transforming a piece of derelict land into a shared community resource and the Powerstock First World War Project who used the money to produce a fascinating portrait of the Parish’s 11 men who died in uniform during the First World War.

Other groups to benefit include Askerswell village hall, the Bridport and District Citizens Advice Bureau, The Bridport Area 50plus Forum, Dorset Blind Association, Loders Youth Club, Transition Town Bridport and Wootten Fitzpaine village hall.