EAST Lancashire Railway's £100,000 canopy project has been given a significant cash boost.

It has clinched a £10,000 award after its "Raising for Glazing" fundraising programme was chosen as one of the winners of the Aviva Community Fund.

Bosses at East Lancashire Railway (ELR) joined the initiative earlier this year in a bid to win the money and needed members of the public to register and vote.

Officials say they are "delighted" to receive the grant and have praised volunteers, visitors and local residents for their continued support.

More than 10,000 votes were cast in the initial phase of the competition which ELR says was a "fantastic achievement" in itself and stood the railway in good stead for the final judging stages.

ELR's fundraising co-ordinator, Richard Barnett, said: “The award means so much to everyone here at the railway. Following the devastating blow to our canopy project back in March when the company providing the glazing went into administration, we were a little worried whether we would be able to complete the project this year. However, the £10,000 funding boost means that work on the roof can continue at pace and will be ready for the autumn season.”

Three months ago, the Bury Times reported how staff and volunteers at East Lancashire Railway (ELR) were left shocked after £18,000 of donations were given to a glass firm, a day before it went into administration.

They handed the sum to a supplier to pay for the glazed roof, but ELR officials said they only discovered that Paperlinx UK had gone into administration from an answering machine message.

Administrators Delloitte told ELR that the glazed roof, which had been due to be sourced from Holland, had not yet been ordered and so, as a consequence, the order would be cancelled.

And they said the £18,000 could not be immediately returned to ELR because it was paid before administration began and a legal process which prioritises creditors will dictate whether the money is returned or not.

Good news, however, is that glazing is currently being fitted to the canopy roof over platform two at the Bolton Street station and will be completed within the next two weeks in time for the railway’s annual fundraising event, "Raise the Roof", on July 17 and 18.