NEARLY £700,000 of Lottery funding has been awarded to 13 community projects in Oxfordshire in three months.

The initiatives ranged from music sessions for people with learning disabilities to healthy lifestyle programmes for families with young children.

The money, raised by players for good causes, is being distributed by the Big Lottery Fund, which calls itself 'the largest funder of community activity in the UK'.

Youth in Mind in Oxford has received £10,000.

Set up by Oxfordshire Youth and Oxfordshire Mind, it is reportedly the first mental health conference of its kind to reach across different sectors for anyone working with children and young people in Oxfordshire.

Jodie Lloyd-Jones, CEO of Oxfordshire Youth, said: “Thanks to funding raised by National Lottery players, we have an opportunity to positively impact how children and young people receive support in the county.

“We have received a huge amount of interest in the event, and we are excited to see everything start to take shape.”