THE group battling to secure the future of Bude's famous sea pool have beaten off stiff competition to gain a share of a £400,000 grant pot.

The Friends of Bude Sea Pool (FoBSP) — a popular outdoor facility — are delighted to land a slice of the money targeted at supporting jobs, businesses and regeneration of seaside communities.

The money will go towards Phase One of the Bude Sea Pool Development project. The amount is not being revealed until contracts are agreed.

The FoBSP had to scramble to put together a bid on behalf of Bude in time to meet the deadline.

"Talk about hectic," explained Rowena Hoseason, one of the group's founder members. "We had barely formed our committee and registered the FoBSP as a charity when the opportunity to apply for funding from this programme occurred. So several members of the sea pool team worked flat out for weeks preparing the paperwork, and we're delighted that our bid was successful."

Ironically, one of the groups behind the grant scheme is Cornwall Council, which is to withdraw funding from the sea pool at Summerleaze Beach from next year.

For a round up of the area news and sport, please see this week's edition of the 'Post'.