A LOCAL band will start the New Year on a high note - after scooping Lottery brass of £45,755.

And it means the survival of the Whitefield-based Besses Boys' Band into the new millennium.

Members of the band are now celebrating after landing the early Christmas present from the North West Arts Board.

"It's brilliant, absolutely brilliant," said a delighted band secretary Mrs Wendy Gray. "At the end of the day it means the survival of the band."

"The band has not had any new instruments in 25 years and the ones we have are getting old and tatty. I did start an instrument fund and we managed to buy two instruments in two years.

"This is a life-saver for us and it will also release some of the instruments for the training band and beginners."

The band had unsuccessfully applied for Lottery funding in the past but a shake-up in the way the cash is distributed now means that regional arts boards can give grants of up to £100,000.

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