EVESHAM and Bewdley are among market towns in Worcestershire and Herefordshire to share in a £4m cash injection from the Government.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today announced the towns, together with Ledbury and Bromyard, would each receive £1m to help rejuvenate the crisis-hit areas.

He said he was confident the cash would make a "real difference".

The towns are among 43 across Britain to benefit from the funds aimed at helping communities shattered by crises like foot-and-mouth or flooding get back on their feet.

Mr Prescott said market towns, which he called a special part of our history, had also suffered local economic decline from the growth of out-of-town shopping centres.

"Towns can play a key role for the wider rural economy," he said.

"They can be the hub of local public transport systems and can provide service and facilities for wider areas."

The Minister made the comments while visiting Market Drayton in Shropshire to launch the second phase of the Government's £120m market towns programme.

Over the next three years around 120 towns are expected to share £100m as the aid programme, which will offer advice on setting up local partnerships and drawing up action plans, is extended.

Bewdley Mayor, Bill Mason, said today he was delighted with the news, and was sure the money would go a long way to help the town.

"This is very good news and most welcome," he said.

"Although we didn't suffer too badly with foot-and-mouth we were obviously badly hit by the floods, so this will help us a lot.

"But more than that it will give people a psychological boost after all the hardship they have endured.

"It will make people living in Bewdley feel better after all the problems we have had."