Plans to improve facilities at Liphook United Football Club’s clubhouse at the Recreation Ground have been boosted by a £1,000 grant from East Hampshire district councillors.

It follows a similar grant made last year which helped with a new entrance to make the club more user-friendly for players and spectators alike.

LUFC chairman Andrew Oxton explained in his application to the council the latest grant would be part of a £5,000 refurbishment which would benefit the 250 children and 50 adults who use the clubhouse.

He said: "We have already updated half the clubhouse and the feedback has been extremely positive.

"We are planning a full refurbishment of the changing rooms area in our clubhouse. They are not very comfortable at the moment.

"The whole area needs to be updated and the grant has been added to the money we were trying to raise. Lots of hard work by volunteers has already made some improvements possible."

Councillor Bill Mouland said: "We are always very supportive of this terrific club which does such a lot for youngsters in the village.

"Of course, the best thing would be to find a way to get them to their promised new ground and we continue to lobby for that.

"But in the meantime we are very happy to see current facilities upgraded."

Andrew added: "Currently the clubhouse is used only once a week on Saturdays, when we have youngsters playing in the morning and the men in the afternoon.  We open at 8am and close at about 8pm.

"What this means is we have a perfectly-usable space sitting vacant for the rest of the week.

"The clubhouse is fully licensed and would be perfect for a small function and we are looking to hire it out to members of the public.

"It can comfortably fit around 40 people, and is ideal for children’s parties, club meetings, darts matches, playgroups, coffee mornings, exercise classes and movie nights.

"We can even offer a new sound system and karaoke machine."