A host of lifeline projects for five- to 13-year-olds in Norfolk were given a timely Christmas present after being saved from the axe thanks to an eleventh hour agreement to provide £1.

A host of lifeline projects for five- to 13-year-olds in Norfolk were given a timely Christmas present after being saved from the axe thanks to an eleventh hour agreement to provide £1.66m.

Schemes saved include one that gives support to dozens of youngsters who provide round-the-clock care for sick relatives and another that helps children with a close family member in prison.

The projects will now be funded until March 31 2009 - but a shadow remains over their future beyond that date.

The funding was announced by the Norfolk Children and Young People's Partnership, which has agreed to continue grant funding for all the projects currently supported by the Children's Fund.

Children's Fund comes to an end in March 2008 because the government money will be redirected to the new 'area grant', which is designed to improve outcomes for a broader range of children and young people.

No decision will be made on how the area grant will be handed out until June 2008, and with the Children's Fund due to run out in March 2008 supported projects were left vulnerable.

Now the children and young people's partnership, which includes Norfolk County Council, has stepped in with £1,658,286 to take them through until the end of the 2008/9 financial year.

Projects benefiting include the North Lynn Discovery Centre, which provides activities including music, dance, arts and crafts, Norfolk Young Carers, and the Ormiston Children and Families Trust, which supports children with a family member in prison.