MORE money from local lottery ticket sales in Teignbridge is to be ploughed back into the district with £2,500 grants available for projects helping the cost of living crisis.

Teignbridge’s weekly lottery was launched by the district council last year with half of the funds raised shared among good causes and community groups.

An additional 10 per cent of tickets sales was held in a central fund to be distributed to the voluntary sector through a small grants process which opens for applications this autumn.

The 70 organisations registered as beneficiaries of the Teignbridge Lottery will be eligible to apply. The total fund stands at £13,397 but will increase by the autumn.

The council’s head of communities and improvement, Amanda Pujol, told members of the executive committee this week the cost of living crisis had been chosen as the focus for this financial year after feedback from the voluntary and community sector.

The district has also been given £20,000 through the government’s Economic Vulnerability Fund to respond to financial hardship challenges locally.

A panel including an executive member of the council and representatives from the voluntary sector will decide who gets the money based on a scoring system.

The Teignbridge Lottery distributes 20 per cent of its revenues in prizes and 20 per cent is spent on running costs and VAT.