A TEAM of talented youngsters is dancing with delight after hearing it has been awarded a £280 cash windfall.

The Divas dance group was awarded the cash in the Making a Difference campaign run by Worcester Round Table and the Evening News.

The cash will buy the troupe, who dance to music from the 70s right through to the present, a new CD player and a smoke machine, to enhance their routines.

Based at Tolladine Community Centre, the group, consisting of dancers aged from seven-years-old to 17, has been together for four years.

The funds mean the group can now dance with more confidence at fetes and school events around the county.

"They are all very excited - and relieved - about the money," said Richard Lake, who runs the club with his wife Susan.

"We've been using a smaller CD unit and we've just about worn it out!"

The Lakes' daughters Tracy, aged 14, and Ann-Marie, 16, have both been with the group since it started.

"This money will make a big difference to us," continued Mr Lake, from Tolladine.

Dramatic effects

"We were struggling to move forward, as the old CD player only gave out a small amount of volume, but now we can go out and perform at fetes and other events with confidence. And the smoke machine will add some dramatic effects to the routines."

Mr Lake paid tribute to the group's dance instructor, Sonja Rees.

"Sonja has put in a lot of hard work with the girls over the four years," he said.

"The girls are where they are now thanks to her."

But he said the group desperately needed more boy dancers for certain routines like Steps and S-Club numbers.

"We perform as often as we can. The girls make up their own routines - and they really do have loads of fun."

Activity club will be rocking tonight

ALMOST 100 adults will be bopping to the sounds of the Beatles, Abba and Bill Hayley thanks to a cash windfall.

The Thursday Activity Club is a social club for adults with learning disabilities.

Once a week, on a Thursday, the 88 club members get together for a disco.

Thanks to a Lottery grant, the club was able to buy a CD player and speakers, but until now, there were no CDs to play on it.

But thanks to £250 from the Making a Difference campaign, they are now able to splash out on on some music. Disco lights are also on the shopping list.

Josie Taylor, who runs the Thursday Activity Club with Fred Middleton, said the CDs and disco lights would make a huge difference to her members.

"They love music," said Mrs Taylor, aged 68, who cared for her Down's Syndrome sister until she passed away four years ago.

"It was absolutely great when we heard we'd got the money."

Funds for the club, which operates from the Perryfields Social and Education Centre, in Midland Road, Worcester, are raised through car boot sales and coffee mornings.

The club is so popular there is a waiting list.

"I could take another 88 people but we just don't have the room," said Mrs Taylor.

" We do all different things, but they really enjoy disco dancing."