BOLTON Lads and Girls Club has made it through to the finals of a prestigious National Lottery competition.

The youth club is one of three in the final of the Helping Hand Awards' Children's Champion contest.

It was selected from more than 1,000 entries and will now be judged in a public vote.

The awards consider all of the youth projects the lottery has funded over the last 10 years.

The club's £4m lottery grant awarded between 2000 and 2002 remains the single biggest lottery award that Sport England has ever made to a voluntary organisation.

Much of the cash went towards building its £5m state-of-the-art centre, which caters for thousands of youngsters, mainly from the most disadvantaged areas of Bolton.

The club is for youngsters aged four to 21-years-old, who, for a 40p entrance fee, have access to a wide range of activities and sports, from 19 football teams to a brand new climbing wall.

The club offers affordable childcare before and after school, and is open seven days a week throughout the year.

It is used weekly by 2,500 young people, including 120 with disabilities, who can meet in a supportive, multicultural, and fully integrated setting.

There is a weekly club specifically for Muslim girls which is regularly attended by up to 70 young women, staffed by women.

Girls and boys are encouraged to join in all sports including football, basketball, rounders, boxing and netball. The club's mentoring and outreach work with troubled youngsters has also come in for praise.

Chief executive of the Lads and Girls Club, Jeremy Glover, said: "It's a fantastic achievement considering it's a culmination of 10 years of the National Lottery.

"It's great to be down to the last three because there must be thousands of lottery projects relating to young people all over the country.

"It's a real team effort here, with volunteers, parents, the local community, the business community and the local authority all working together and reaching the final is recognition of that."

The awards have been organised to celebrate and gain wider recognition for some of the many achievements made possible by lottery funding so far.

They are part of the 10th lottery anniversary celebrations and will be shown live on television on Saturday, November 6. To vote for the Bolton Lads and Girls Club in the Lottery competition ring 0871 872 1909. Calls cost just 1p.