FORMER town mayor Anne Taft presented a whopping cheque for more than £4,000 to Girlguiding Droitwich after her mayoral year of fundraising.

It will go towards the total cost of rebuilding the guide hut in Acre Lane - the cost of which is as yet unknown.

The organisation has been told by Wychavon District Council it could have its lease renewed providing it gains planning permission for any work done, and raises sufficient funds.

Acting division commissioner for Droitwich, Angela Penn, said the group started negotiating with Wychavon District Council more than four years ago in an attempt to get its lease extended.

She said: "We have needed new facilities for some time for the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Senior Section and Guiders, who rely on our town guide hut, but we needed to re-negotiate a new lease first.

"It was impossible for us to fundraise when we didn't know how long we'd be able to remain on the site."

Droitwich Spa Friends of Guiding contacted town councillor Anne Taft (Con-Droitwich South East) after she announced Girlguiding in the town was going to be one of her chosen charities for the year.

Angela added: "We had been trying to find out about our lease for some time before Friends of Guiding asked for help and we are truly grateful to Cllr Taft for helping us get answers to the questions that we had asked about our lease."