A west Oxfordshire volunteer centre will be sitting pretty after a £1,000 grant from the Oxford Mail's parent company Gannett.

Volunteer Link Up (West Oxfordshire) helps match volunteers with local groups who are in desperate need of help.

Based in Witney's Methodist Church Centre, the organisation has been run on a shoe-string and its furniture is falling apart.

The grant from the Gannett Foundation will ensure volunteer co-odinators now have decent chairs and desks to work from.

Volunteer Link Up manager Patricia Chirgwin said they were absolutely delighted with the grant.

She said: "It was quite a surprise to get the letter. We're over the moon, it's great news."

The centre runs three in-house projects.

It provides drivers for people unable to use public transport, provides friends for isolated members of the community and helps find volunteers to carry out small DIY jobs and gardening for elderly, frail and disabled residents.

In addition, Volunteer Link Up helps match residents who want to give up some free time with the organisations their skills are suited to.

Groups that have benefited from the service include the MS Society and Witney Families Together.

But while Volunteer Link Up was busy helping other groups, working conditions for its own staff were going downhill.

Mrs Chirgwin said: "We have been running the organisation on a shoe-string, with a lot of donated equipment and things we have picked up along the way.

"Our office furniture is coming to the end of its natural life, so we will be able to get some new desks to work from with this money. The ones we have at the moment are held together with tape."

Oxford Mail Editor Simon O'Neill said: "It's great to be able to help organisations like Volunteer Link Up, which carry out such an important role in the community.

"We hope this award from the Gannett Foundation will help them continue doing their vital work."

The Gannett Foundation offers awards of up to £5,000 for community charities that take a creative approach to community issues.

Gannett gives out about £250,000 to charities every six months and earlier this year four Oxford groups were awarded more than £10,000.