FOUR community groups from Basingstoke have been handed grants totalling £6,500 by Lloyds Bank Community Fund.

St Michael’s Hospice, Basingstoke Consortium Ltd, Odiham Cottage Hospital and National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS) Basingstoke branch all received awards of between £500 and £3,000.

As previously reported, the groups all vied for public votes to secure the cash.

The hospice, in Aldermaston Road, secured the most votes and received £3,000, with Basingstoke Consortium Ltd picking up £2,000.

Odiham Cottage Hospital was handed £1,000, with NASS picking up £500.

The hospice will put the cash towards the purchase of an ultrasound machine, which will be used to look for and treat fluid build-up in the abdominal cavity and lungs, to enable staff to manage patients' symptoms and reduce pain and breathlessness.

Basingstoke Consortium Ltd, which works to improve life chance for young people, will use the money to provide preparation courses for those at risk of becoming NEET- not in education, employment or training.

Odiham Cottage Hospital, will use the money to expand its befriending service by providing training to additional volunteers.

NASS, Basingstoke, which provides facilities for sufferers of the disease to take part in condition specific exercise under the guidance of trained physiotherapists. The award will help fund new equipment and regular hydrotherapy sessions.

The groups were among 1,400 across 350 communities who benefitted from the Lloyds Bank Community Fund award.

The scheme was set up to help people have a positive impact on their community by voting to give grants to popular local causes.