A PEMBROKESHIRE village is celebrating a boost of almost £250,000 for a project that aims to ensure locals live apple-y ever after.

Community Group Hanes Llandoch in St Dogmaels, which organises the popular local market, has received £247,410 from the Big Lottery Fund for a community orchard with the planting of 1,000 apple trees in the area.

This will provide training, education and engagement opportunities for what the BLF said would be hundreds of people, whilst also improving the natural environment.

The orchard was one of nine projects across Wales sharing in £2,907,263 as part of the latest round of People and Places funding.

Hanes Llandoch's Nia Siggins featured in a video where she was surprised with the cheque.

She said: “For once in my life I was rendered speechless, but not for long as we were overwhelmed with joy, particularly when a rather large presentation cheque was produced with the magical sum of £247,410.

“The video has been brilliant. We had an overwhelming response with over 100 emails congratulating us and over 30 new people, including an artisan cider maker and an apiary expert, indicating they would like to get involved directly with the delivery of the project.

“People are very excited about the project and to have this level of support right at the start has never happened for us in the past.

Welcoming the funding, Nia said: “The support of our local community has been overwhelming and we are all looking forward to bringing this three year environmental project to fruition.

“The unofficial launch date will be on August Bank Holiday at our annual Medieval Fayre located in the grounds of St Dogmaels’ Abbey. Any interested parties can visit our stall to discover more about the project and find out how to get involved!

“We know it is going to be a lot of hard work - we have a thousand trees to plant, an extensive range of craft and vocational workshops to deliver, wild flower meadows to establish and numerous pollinator friendly activities to organise! From toddlers to pensioners, there is something that will enable everyone to engage with the project and play a part in creating what we hope will be a long lasting environmental legacy.

“The Board of Trustees of Hanes Llandoch would like to thank the team at The Big Lottery Fund for their professionalism and support during the initial stages of our application and throughout the later stages. We look forward to working with you and your team over the next three years.”