A TOURIST information centre that faced the axe less than 18 months ago has received a grant of £5,000 from the National Lottery Awards for All programme.

The grant will allow the centre in Melksham to make improvements to its Church Street premises. These include improving the access to the shop area for the disabled and mums with pushchairs, providing counter induction loops for the hard of hearing while there will also be better furniture and improvements to the display facilities for the shop.

TIC spokesperson Mrs Terri Welch said: "We are thrilled to get this award. This grant will allow us to help many of our customers. We've worked very hard to develop this project and to write the application. Now we've got the money its time for the real work to start."

It's a big turnaround for the centre, which was facing closure at the end of 2004 due to district council funding cuts. Melksham Town Council saved the day by putting up £10,000 from its budget.