AMBLESIDE Post Office is being given thousands of pounds to help support local people and businesses and to tackle isolation among the elderly.

The branch is one of 25 nationally to be named a winner of the Community Enterprise Fund by Minister for Communities Stephen Williams. They will each receive up to £10,000 to make their idea a reality.

In Ambleside, the post office at the Tourist Information Centre, Market Cross, will work with Learning Plus, a local self-help group, to increase access to key skills training such as literacy, numeracy, IT and English as a second language, using activities linked to Post Office products and services.

More than 100 branches entered the competition.