MORE than £5,000 has been awarded to the Colchester Sea Cadets to refurbish its training ship.

Newsquest Media Group, which owns the Gazette, and parent company Gannett has given more than £3 million to help charitable community projects all over the country, for the past ten years.

This year Colchester Sea Cadets was one of the worthy winners. It applied for £5,100 to refurbish two cabins on the training ship to allow overnight stays and use for daytime training and meetings.

It has been awarded the full amount, and will be able to start work on the TS Colne Light, docked at The Hythe.

Chairman of the Colchester Sea Cadets, Andrew Davenall, said the money will be used to add bunk beds to the two cabins.

He said: “One of the things we have been wanting to do is more overnight and weekend stays for training.

“The cadets come down on Monday and Wednesday nights but they have just come from a day at school.

“There would be a great advantage for them being able to do a Friday and Saturday night.

“Overnight stays are very popular and we can focus on a course or provide a range of activities. Colchester has a lot of open space and the Cadets just adore staying for much longer periods. They will be so excited.”

This year, the trustees have given nearly £300,000 to causes across the country.

Special awards also went to a number of charities connected with the news industry.

Simon Westrop, chairman of Newsquest’s trustees said: “Amid all the political and economic turmoil, real life goes on of course.

“It is a privilege for the trustees to be able to do a little something to help where we can.

“If your application did not succeed this time, please don’t be discouraged, but look at the applications that have won grants and think how you can come up with even better ideas next year.”

“Often we think the best applications are not the headline-grabbers but the small ones that meet a particular need and instantly improve daily life.

“For instance, the new kettle the community centre has been wanting for ages. So think practically.”

Details about entering for a 2019 Gannett Foundation grant will be published in the Gazette in July.