A CHARITY is looking forward to another ‘exciting year’ after reaching more people with its sport provisions than before.

Accrington Stanley Community Trust have released figures to show the number of people that benefited in the key areas of sport participation, health, education and inclusion.

In total there were 15,880 people who took part in projects in 2017, an increase from 10,157 in 2016.

A total of 6,316 primary school children also took part in activities last year, which was a rise of almost 4,000 from 2,628 the previous year.

Martin Fearon, CEO of Accrington Stanley Community Trust, said it was good news to see an increase of more than 5,000 unique users of the facilities this year.

He said: “Each year we aim to grow our provision so that more and more people from our local area can benefit from our vast array of projects. We have done this again in 2017 and the numbers are remarkable.

“I would like to thank all of our funders and partners who have played a part in helping us achieve our aims and objectives this year.

“We now deliver over 30 community projects and engage with over 15,000 local people.”

The charity has also helped 1,140 people take part in its Stanley soccer league in the past year, an increase of 300 since 2016.

Last year the trust also set up a ladies football team and have helped 633 girls get involved in football, an increase of 150 from the previous year.

In 2017 the group raised more than £400,000 for charity, taking its total raised in its seven-year history to more than £2million.

The trust now employs 22 people from the local area, four more than 2016.

The charity hosts a variety of disability sports sessions and hosts weekly ‘walking football’ sessions for over 50s in the area to help ‘increase exercise and reduce social isolation’.

Looking forward to the rest of 2018, staff at the trust said there are more plans in place for them to connect with even more people.

Mr Fearon said: “We have some exciting plans this year which include a range of new sport and education provision so keep your eyes peeled for these to be announced in the coming weeks.

“We have also recently secured funding from the Premier League, National Lottery and Sport England which will be invested into new and existing projects.

“2018 is set to be another successful and exciting year with planning approval being granted for a new community sports hub facility in Hyndburn.

“This will be a big focus for the trust over the next 12 months along with increasing provision in a number of different areas.”

To find out more about the charity’s work, visit stanleytrust.co.uk. The group currently has an office in Oswaldtwistle Business & Conference Centre.