A performing arts and theatre charity in the Forest of Dean has been nominated a Community Champion by a leading housebuilder.

Arts in Rural Gloucestershire has been awarded £1,000 by Persimmon Homes East Wales to help fund the charity’s Found in the Forest scheme, which operates in Cinderford and Five Acres.

The charity supports young people across the county aged between seven and 19 by delivering workshops in acting and theatre performance.

The primary aim of the charity is to help individuals to build confidence and develop skills such as team building and public speaking. The workshops cover many different forms of performance art such as puppetry, circus, comedy, drama and music.

Young people can also benefit by achieving an ‘Arts Award’ – a recognised qualification which would help to gain entry into further and higher education.

Found in the Forest is the youth theatre arm of Arts in Rural Gloucestershire, meeting at New Mercury Arts Centre in Cinderford on Sundays and at Gloucestershire College Five Acres Campus on Tuesdays.