A CHARITY which supports adults with learning difficulties has scooped £89,000 in lottery funding thanks to some help from a resolute group of supporters.

Paul's Place, based at Coalpit Heath Cricket Club, won the public vote on ITV West's People's Millions Awards last Friday to win the National Lottery money.

The contest was won partly thanks to a hardy group of 25 people who managed to distribute 10,000 flyers in one day urging people to vote.

The group managed to send out all the flyers to pubs, homes and shops in Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Winterbourne, Coalpit Heath and Downend by 9pm last Thursday, 12 hours after a phone number was released for people to vote.

The following evening members of the charity and cricket club joined up for a televised gathering at the charity's base to hear they had won the much needed cash.

The money will be spent on upgrading the clubhouse to include disabled facilities and an office base for the charity.

Paul's Place manager Kath Aldom said they were "over the moon".

She said: "We are all still buzzing from the win. It was a mad rush to get the flyers out but so worth it when you think we now have almost £100,000 to improve our centre.

"We are all over the moon, its brilliant. This money will make a massive change to so many people's lives.

"We will have proper disabled facilities including a kitchen, where users of the group will be able to cook their own food.

"This year we have secured a home here at the cricket club and now money to improve it. Its been the best year yet for this charity."

Paul's Place, set up 12 years ago, provides day and evening care for more than 100 physically disabled adults.

It won the lottery funding by taking more viewers' votes than a community cycle project in Preanes Green in Weston-super-Mare.

The charity's first use of the money will be to set up a disabled ramp from the clubhouse down to the cricket pitch.

A planning application for the ramp is to be submitted by the end of the month.

Sir Clive Booth, chairman of the Big Lottery Fund, said: "With all the votes now counted, 90 good cause groups and their respective communities across the United Kingdom are benefiting immensely from this exciting competition.

"Over the last three years, £13.6 million of Lottery funding has been granted, with over 1.1 million people across the UK deciding where this money was spent."