A GROUP for asthmatic swimmers given a cash boost by your Argus has splashed out on new equipment and more staff.

Torfaen Puffins Asthmatic Swimming Club received a grant from our American parent company, Gannett, which owns the Argus' publishing firm, Newsquest.

Now the club - which has a waiting list of around 50 youngsters - has used its £3,000 to buy diving equipment and buoyancy aids and is awaiting confirmation of training for new timekeepers and assistant coaches.

Funding co-ordinator Carl Woods said: "This money couldn't have come at a better time. At the end of the last financial year, our balance was £45! But this has put us in a strong position to go forward."

The group, based at Bettws and Fairwater leisure centres, has two main coaches and four assistant coaches giving lessons to asthma sufferers aged three to 18.

Mr Woods said: "Asthma has been shown to be controlled and helped by exercise and particularly swimming. It teaches the children to control their breathing.

"We also have a social side, with day trips etc. The club is like a big family."

Dozens of groups made bids for help from The Gannett Foundation Fund in Newsquest's Wales and West region, but only Torfaen Puffins and Newport Action for the Single Homeless (NASH) were chosen.

NASH received £5,000 towards the development of an arts day centre for the homeless and socially excluded.

* Torfaen Puffins holds beginners' and learners' classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm to 7pm and swimming squad on Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm to 7pm and Saturdays from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. For more information, contact 'Mother Puffin' on 01633 675457.

* In the picture: Dafydd Price, 21 months, held aloft by mum Sharon.