A WIRRAL charity for children with cerebral palsy has been awarded a £6,000 grant following an campaign by local residents.

Wallasey's Stick 'n' Step helps children with cerebral palsy through intensive, individualised therapy.

In July this year high street bank NatWest launched "CommunityForce" to help support charities, raise publicity for their work and attract volunteers.

Organisations were invited to apply for funding during the summer and an on-line vote then took place to decide which three organisations in each area would receive the awards.

Around 7,000 eligible charities and community projects in the UK applied to take part and more than 450,000 votes were cast.

Kerry Roe-Ely, fundraising mananager, said, "We used Facebook and Twitter to try to get as many people as possible to vote for us.

"We created an event page and invited all our Facebook friends, some of whom in turn invited their friends.

"We also encouraged everyone who came through our doors, including plumbers, to vote.

"We are a small charity and winning a grant this size means a great deal to us."

Sandra Bruce, chief executive officer for NatWest in Chester and Wirral said: "We've had a fantastic response to CommunityForce and it's clear that people in Wallasey are passionate about Stick 'n' Step."

"