THE Hanbury Arms Racing Pigeon club is celebrating after receiving a £17,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund's People and Place programme.

The Garndiffaith club is using part of the money to set up a young members scheme to get children interested in pigeon racing.

Vice-chairman at the club, Malcolm Anslow, said: "It's absolutely brilliant. It will help young and old."

Mr Anslow, 72, who has been with the club since he was ten said he first noticed the interest children had in pigeon racing two years ago when members of the club visited schools and received a positive response.

He said club members visiting schools try to incorporate maths and geography by asking children to point out race locations on maps and how long it would take a pigeon to fly a set distance.

The club, which has been established for more than 50 years, will also invest in a new electronic timing system for the pigeons, meaning members no longer have to manually time their pigeons.

"With electronic timers and other innovations, pigeon racing is finally joining the modern era and I hope this project will get more young people involved with our club and keep it's rich history going for future generations to enjoy," said Mr Anslow.