A DAY centre manager has described a £500 grant to help equip a 'therapy' kitchen as the "icing on the cake".

Bicester Resource Centre, in Launton Road, underwent a six-month £280,000 refurbishment to turn it into a 'super day centre', which now offers a large number of services beyond the range of a traditional day centre for the elderly and infirm.

The wider community also uses the centre and it has become a hub of activity.

With the county council grant the kitchen was kitted out with conventional utensils, as well as specialist items, such as talking weight scales and non-slip mats.

Centre manager Catherine Blaxhall said: "It's fantastic to have received this money.

"It really is the icing on the cake.

"Several people a day use the kitchen and we are looking at expanding it to provide cookery lessons so that people who find themselves on their own later on in life can have some fun cooking."

The kitchen is used daily by the many service users who attend the centre.

People who have lost confidence in their own abilities can regain their skills and are often able to go on to return to cooking for themselves at home.

Others use the kitchen to bake cakes to take home to their carers and families, or to share with others at the centre.

The centre is looking at developing partnerships with the community to encourage groups to use the room to enjoy a shared meal and the centre's other facilities, such as the IT suite.