ALMOST half a million pounds has been gifted to four projects in Bolton.

The money is part of a £4.8 million pot being distributed to 90 projects in the north west by the National Lottery.

In Bolton the money has been shared among a domestic abuse support project, a school, an after school group and a henna teaching group.

Bishop Bridgeman Primary School has been awarded £9,997 for its Building, Living and Driving Communities project.

The project brings together pupils, their parents, siblings and even nearby residents to build a harmonious community.

Headteacher Jill Pilling said: "It's about building up a positive relationship across the whole community.

"Not that we have experienced a great deal of hate crime but we wanted to strengthen those links after recent events and promote the attitude that it doesn't matter which walk of life you're from or the colour of your skin."

Their groups have been meeting at the school in Rupert Street on Saturdays and members complete art projects or enjoy conversational Jenga, where each block offers a talking point.

The Safe Haven scheme at the Endeavour Project has received the enormous sum of £414,639.

Save Haven offers domestic abuse support to anyone who might need it and its new Endeavour Project, looks to help people who have not yet accessed their services, those in minority groups and particularly those who might not be aware of their help, like refugees.

Carole Marsden, director of services at Endeavour, based in Chorley New Road, said: "We offer a whole life support service so, whichever point you are at on that journey, whether experiencing abuse or on the road to recovery we can help.

"For us this year, the money has meant it's good for the people we work with and we were going to have to make redundancies."

Friends of the Forward Centre, which is in Stephens Street, Breightmet have been gifted £9,980, this will go towards an after school nurture group for seven to 11-year-olds.

Reshma Patel, a funding officer at the Bolton Impact Trust, which manages the Forwards Centre, said: "It's providing after school activities for children who are very, very vulnerable.

"It's a programme of activities that help to build life skills and look after themselves.

"They can be anything that involves working, playing together in a group.

"A lot of those kids have behaviour issues and quite often they have been isolated. It's about helping them to form those links to form friendships and raise confidence."

The fourth project to be awarded funding in Bolton is Magic of Mehndi, which is run by the Community Film Art & Media CIC.

The £10,000 will be used to empower black, minority ethnic (BME) women across Bolton by running henna art training and workshops.

It is hoped the project will reduce isolation, raise self-esteem and increase people’s confidence.