A junior football club in Ross-on-Wye is celebrating scooping a £5,000 national award to buy shelters for its players.

Ross Juniors Football Club, which is based at Ross Sports Centre, is now set to buy three mobile shelters to help protect the team from the elements on match days after being awarded the money by financial services company OneFamily as part of its Community Awards.

The awards are part of the OneFamily Foundation and were created to give OneFamily customers the opportunity to support projects in their area that matter to them and their families. This year’s awards saw customers nominating projects to win £5,000, £10,000 or £25,000 across four categories.

Debbie Flitney, who has a Child Trust Fund with OneFamily for her son and daughter, put Ross Juniors forward because her husband Paul has been a coach there for seven years.

The club, which has more than 400 players aged from four to 16-years-old, is one of 32 organisations to have won an award in this latest round.

Paul said: “During the winter months, the children play in all weather conditions and the subs on the side lines really suffer in the driving rain and cold.

“Some of the younger players have even been put off taking part due to the awful weather, so we hope the new shelters will encourage more children to get involved.

“The community really rallied behind us during the voting stage of the award, and we’re grateful to everyone that took time to support us.”

Guy French, corporate and customer strategy director at OneFamily said: “Ross Juniors already works with hundreds of youngsters from the community, and it’s great to know that this new equipment will encourage even more children to get involved.

“The projects that the awards support are all very special to our customers and make a positive difference in their local communities.

“We are a customer-owned business and for us it’s not just about offering financial products and services. The OneFamily Foundation is a way that we give something back to our customers, and each year we give hundreds of thousands of pounds to causes that matter to them most.

“Last year, we touched the lives of more than 100,000 people through our awards and grants, and this year we hope to make the Community Awards even bigger and better.”