WANTAGE Town Council has donated £10,000 to Wantage Silver Band towards building a new car park.

The silver band moved into its new hall at Tugwell Field in March after a decade of fundraising the £270,000 needed to build it.

Now the band wants to turn the muddy land where people park their cars, which is shared with Wantage Town Junior Football Club, into a more suitable 35-space car park.

Meeting on February 10 at Wantage Civic Hall, the town council unanimously agreed to donate £10,000 towards the £15,000 cost of the work.

The band has found a contractor and is now waiting for the work to be done.

Bandmaster of 30 years Eileen Sykes, 69, from Belmont, said: “This is great news, we were concerned about the cost because we simply didn’t have the money.

“It has been difficult to contend with the mud, we all have instruments we are trying to get inside. When it is done, it will be absolutely wonderful.”

The band, formed in 1972 for a handful of children, runs six bands. In January it launched a new Saturday beginners’ band for adults and children aged seven and above.

For more information call 01235 767541.