A MASSIVE lottery grant has saved Sheerness-based Swale Community Against Drugs as it hovered on the brink of closure.

Now the 11th-hour Community Fund grant of £117,650 will breathe new life into the project and sustain it for another three years.

Many people believe the project's work is vital to Sheppey since it tackles drug and alcohol abuse through early intervention, raising awareness among young people and their parents, and support for those at risk.

Mike Brown, SCAD's project manager, admitted: "We were very close to redundancies and shutting down the project, so now we are obviously very, very pleased."

He paid tribute to local MP Derek Wyatt for his help and advice with SCAD's renewed bid for lottery funding after their original bid was turned down last year.

"He got us an interview with the Community Fund's chief funding officer in Guildford and we were able to explain in detail why we believed our original bid ought to have been acceptable," Mr Brown said.

The new funding will pay for outreach and drop-in sessions, as well as a mentoring scheme for vulnerable individuals and family support groups.

The aim is to help children and parents understand how to deal with substance misuse situations and to cut levels of drug use, related crime and anti-social behaviour.

The three-year grant will contribute towards the salary of a full-time manager and education officer and a part-time youth worker and administrative assistant.

It will also fund rent, running expenses, production of information, training, travel, sessional room hire and van contract hire for running outreach sessions.