A bowling club has hit the jackpot after scooping more than £150,000 of lottery cash.

And a football club also scored today when it received a grant to pay for nearly £100,000 of improvements.

Members of Hatfield Peverel Bowls Club are celebrating after news of the massive grant was announced today.

The money means ambitious plans to spend £200,000 on a new pavilion and bowling green can finally get the go-ahead after years of planning.

Club chairman Bob Gammie said they were "absolutely delighted".

Mr Gammie - a retired architect - has already started drawing up plans for the new building in Wickham Bishops Road.

The parish council has offered to lease to the club part of a new playing field.

About 60 members have had to use the village hall for bowling matches since the club formed in 1991.

They have spent the last eight years preparing a bid for lottery cash to pay for a permanent home.

Club members managed to raise £30,000 towards the project, on top of £40,000 from various funding organisations.

Work is due to start on the new £145,000 pavilion next spring. It will also boast indoor bowls facilities.

A traditional £55,000 outdoor green should be ready for use the following year.

There was also good news for White Notley Football Club which is £97,700 better off, thanks to a successful lottery bid.

The club will use the cash to pay for a floodlit artificial pitch, put in new changing rooms and improve parking.

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