Stranraer Oyster Festival secures funding

The second edition of an oyster festival in south west Scotland has secured financial support.

The Stranraer event - which started last year - has landed nearly £50,000 of National Lottery funding.

It was one of three projects across the ITV Border area to receive the most The People's Projects public votes.

The festival - designed to celebrate the Loch Ryan oyster harvest and locally caught seafood - is believed to be worth £500,000 to the local economy.

It will feature a series of workshops, demonstrations and a gala event this year.

'Incredible things'

The other groups to secure funding were The Bee Space, a community apiary project in Dumfries, and The Wild About Wellbeing project in Galashiels.

Joe Ferns, UK funding director of the Big Lottery Fund, said: "The People's Projects highlights the incredible things people and communities are doing across the UK.

"From rural villages to towns and cities, local people are working together to help each other lead happier and healthier lives.

"We're really excited to see this year's winners using National Lottery funding to take their projects further, bringing more people together to make a life-changing difference in their local area."