THE RAF Benevolent Fund has agreed to help Carterton’s youth centre get back on its feet after council cuts.

The Allandale Centre, in Burford Road, was one of 22 youth centres across Oxfordshire that lost funding in April. Oxfordshire County Council made the cuts to save £4m a year.

But now Carterton Town Council has bought the centre for £64,000 from the county council to continue the service.

The RAF Benevolent Fund will pay for a full-time and two part-time youth workers, at a cost of £63,000 for the first year.

The youth workers will principally help support the RAF Brize Norton community. The funding is part of a national £24m pot to support RAF families.

Benevolent Fund director of welfare and policy Paul Hughesdon said: “The project has been developed in response to a direct request from the RAF. It will give children and young people in serving families access to appropriate facilities and activities, helping to relieve the strain on parents at home and on the front line.”

Carterton Town Council has been given £65,900 by Oxfordshire County Council to renovate the youth centre and build disabled facilities.

The town council will then be able to lease the centre out to a disability group during the day, which will help pay for the centre’s upkeep.

Carterton deputy mayor Adrian Coomber said: “It is a great ending to what was potentially a fairly bad news story.”

Matty Yallop, 17, from Carterton, said: “I think it is brilliant that the centre is staying. It is really great the town council has recognised how important it is. It just shows that they are taking on board what young people have been saying.”