Ormskirk Community Partnership is calling shoppers to help bag a share of Tesco’s community fund and brighten up local alley ways.

OCP, whose projects include the annual Gingerbread Festival and the gingerbread figures seen around Ormskirk, have been shortlisted to receive a share Tesco’s community fund.

Between January and March, shoppers at the local Tesco in Burscough have the opportunity to cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out when they shop.

Dave Mutch, OCP Chairman, told QLocal this morning: "We want to tidy up and liven up areas of the town, and plan to tackle at least one scruffy alleyway - though hopefully more will follow.

"Each of the planned locations will have a community derived artwork in place, and it would be fantastic if shoppers at Tesco could use their token to vote for us.

"We’ve been established for over ten years, and funding like this is a lifeline for us. Without such help, our work would be much harder. Please lend us your support if you shop at Tesco in Burscough.”

Tesco works with Groundwork to run its community funding scheme, which sees grants of £2,000, £1,000 and £500 awarded to local community projects. Its 'Bags of Help' scheme has already provided over £80 million to more than 27,000 projects across Britain; customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop, and every three months, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions will be awarded funding.

Groundwork’s National Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said: “Bags of Help continues to enable local communities up and down Britain to improve the local spaces and places that matter to them. The diversity of projects that are being funded shows that local communities have a passion to create something great in their area. We are pleased to be able to be a part of the journey and provide support and encouragement to help local communities thrive.” For more information please visit: www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.

These pictures are taken next to Clark’s shoe shop in Ormskirk, and feature Dave Mutch, Chairman. Graffiti has previously been painted over by local volunteers, including Dave.