Nine Croydon charities celebrated receiving nearly £48,000 in grants last week, which will help them to continue to provide vital projects in Croydon.

The money has been awarded by the Dispossessed and BIG Lottery Funds, as a result of fundraising by members of Croydon Commitment and the establishment of their Grassroots Trust, which hopes to provide a long term funding legacy.

The charities work to provide a diverse range of services including health, youth mentoring, the arts, support for the homeless, education and crime prevention.

Beneficiaries of the grant were Nighwatch, The Brenda Kirby Trust, Potential, Lives not Knives, Rise Media, UnderCroydon, Croydon Carers Centre, Family Restoration Centre and Croydon Supplementary Education Project.

Ian Robinson, CEO of Croydon Commitment along with Bhupendra Solanki from Croydon Voluntary Action, presented the 'big cheques' to the charities.

Monique Rebeiro from Lives not Knives said: "If it were not for this funding we would have been in dire straits, because of this money we have been able to host 20 anti knife road shows in primary schools reaching thousands of pupils throughout Croydon and now attracted further Home Office interest."

After the event, Mr Robinson said: "I am delighted to be here today to present these grants.

"It's a fantastic to see the fundraising work of our members having an incredible impact."