A brand new cafe will be coming to a popular Lacock-based charity, after it secured nearly £50,000 through a public vote.

The Wiltshire Scrapstore, based in Bowden Hill, was awarded £49,975 from the People’s Millions, a grants lottery fund run by the Big Lottery Fund and ITV.

The charity, which recycles junk materials for art and educational products across the county, went up against a Gloucestershire-based young carers’ charity on ITV regional news on Wednesday, to appeal for funding for a new cafe.

Although it came second on the night, it received enough votes to qualify as fourth-place runner-up on the week-long appeal, and will now receive the full amount requested.

Scrapstore assistant director Glynis Cosgrove said: “We had enough support from the wonderful public to ensure that we came fourth and got the money we asked for, which was just under £50,000. That will fully fund the working cafe, food safety training to get it up and running, and will pay for someone to run it.

“It was the best thing for us, as it meant the young carers, who so deserve funding, also got what they needed, so we were both winners on the day.

“I want to say a big thank you to everybody involved; our volunteers, who went out in the streets in the day to get the news out, and the public who read about us in the paper and saw us on the television and picked up their phones.”

The cafe will provide a space for visitors to stop for a coffee and a cake, and is hoped will attract more people to the centre.

Mrs Cosgrove said: “It’s going to mean so much to us, and to the volunteers and members of the public who come here.

“Hopefully it will raise our profile. It was really good marketing as well, which wasn’t the intention, but it means a lot more people know about us. We had new members join on the actual day.

“New Year is usually our quiet time, and we are hoping to get everything done in the early part of January, so hopefully it will be ready by February half term for an official opening.”