THE grass is looking greener for a bowling club after it was awarded a £5,000 grant from a local business.

Members of Nevilles Cross Bowls Club, in Durham City, have been awarded the money for a new turf aerator which will keep the playing surface in tip-top condition.

The 35-member club is responsible for the upkeep of its own ground, near St Cuthbert’s Hospice in the city.

Over the years its existing equipment has become obsolete and its weight made it difficult for members, who are mostly older people, to manoeuvre around the bowling green.

But now, after a grant from Durham-based business The Banks Group, via its Banks Community Fund, the club has purchased a petrol-driven turf aerator which can be much more easily managed.

The new equipment arrives in time for the new season which starts in April and sees the club in Division One of the Durham and District Bowling League after winning promotion last year.

Brian Slinn, assistant secretary at Nevilles Cross Bowls Club, said: “There are always lots of jobs to do to keep the green in the best possible condition, and we've been carrying out an increasing amount of this work ourselves, but the equipment we had to help with this work was rather out of date and difficult for our members to use.

"The new aerator is a great deal easier to use and maintain, and comes with the equipment we need to keep our playing surface in the best possible condition.

"The club is in very good health both on and off the green, and the generous support we've had from Banks will help us build on everything we achieved last year."

Mark Dowdall, from the Banks Group, added: “The Nevilles Cross Bowls Club is a long-established community sports club that is keen to attract more local people to become members and we're very pleased to be supporting their work to provide a first class playing surface and to increase their numbers even further."