SIX Winchester community groups are set to win a slice of a £5,000 bursary thanks to a Hampshire homebuilder.

The organisations, recognised for their important community work, were selected from more than 30 applications from across Hampshire.

The annual Community Bursary was launched in April by upmarket homebuilder CALA Homes Thames following the launch of the Kings Barton development last year.

Nick Twine, managing director at CALA Homes Thames, said: “When we first launched the Community Bursary we simply did not expect the number of inspiring applications we received. It confirms the strong sense of community in the region and we are delighted to be able to support that further by creating and distributing funds from our new bursary scheme.

“The painstaking process of selecting the successful groups was made especially challenging due to both the quantity and quality of applications across the board.

"Over the coming months we’ll be keeping in touch with each of the recipients to hear about how the funding is benefitting the local community.”

Among the six recipients in Winchester were homeless charity Trinity Winchester and autism charity The Playhouse Foundation. Kings Worthy Primary School and Rainbows End Pre-School also saw a slice of the cash.

Full list of recipients:

• The Playhouse Foundation, Winchester

• Friends of Lanterns (Lanterns Nursery School), Winchester

• Stefano Olivieri Unit, Winchester

• Kings Worthy Primary School, Kings Worthy

• Trinity Winchester, Winchester

• Rainbows End Pre-School, Winchester

• Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association, Portsmouth

• Stepping Stones DS, Fleet

• Hart Male Voice Choir, Odiham