COMMUNITY leaders today celebrated scooping more than £90,000 to help them breathe new life into a run-down hall on a Weymouth estate.

The dilapidated Littlemoor Community Centre, which has been targeted by vandals, is set to become the focus of the estate once again thanks to a bumper grant from the National Lottery Community Fund.

The centre, built in the 1960s, used to be a thriving community resource but fell into a state of disrepair.

A new committee was formed last year but work to give the Canberra Road building a facelift had barely started when vandals smashed their way into the site causing £1,000-worth of damage.

The committee of the Littlemoor Community Centre Association then focused its efforts on getting lottery support - and says it is thrilled with news of the £92,150 grant.

Committee secretary Les Strong, who is headteacher of Bincombe Valley Primary School, said: "It's great news. The future starts here."

He added: "Over the last year our efforts have been directed at trying to make the building safe. Now our goal is to open the community centre for the benefit of everyone on the estate."

Other groups in Dorset to benefit from Community Fund cash announced today include the Dorchester Opportunity Group which received £113,864 to help expand the range of support services for families who have young children with special needs.

At Littlemoor the lions' share of the grant will be spent on capital works, including fitting a new kitchen and disabled toilets and installing wheelchair access to the building.

The hall will be redecorated, existing toilets and a meeting room will be refurbished, new doors and signs fitted and a storeroom turned into an office. There will also be new security measures which include lights and window grilles. Cash will also be set aside to employ a part-time caretaker and for general running costs.

Mr Strong said: "The committee realised that some real money was needed if we were to get the community centre up and running again.

"Now that things are moving along, we hope more people will come forward to support the centre.

"We're open to ideas of what the centre can be used for but we'd like to see groups meeting at the club again such as a parent and toddler club, cubs scouts and bingo."

Committee treasurer the Reverend Antony MacRow-Wood, of St Francis of Assisi Church, said: "It's good news for Littlemoor.

"The centre was used for Sunday services for many years and the building of the church was often perceived to be the reason why the community centre went into decline."

He added: "I am pleased to be part of a project that will give the community centre a new lease of life."