Almost £500,000 is to be pumped into a Great Yarmouth financial support charity over the next four years.

DIAL Great Yarmouth, which works to support people in immediate financial crisis, has secured £498,677 from the Big Lottery Fund, which will allow it to help more than 3,000 people across the borough.

The funding, which will run for four years, will allow the charity to expand its services to meet increasing demand in the area, as it works to help people relying on high interest loans and foodbanks.

The funding will allow its weekend drop-in support sessions to run on Sundays as well as Saturdays, as well as creating 40 new volunteer placements. The placements will give people the opportunity to develop skills in administration, support work and customer service.

The boost will also mean the charity can deliver more work with children, visiting schools and running clubs to help young people develop money managing skils.

Jo Howes, project manager at DIAL, said: 'Small charities and community groups are often best placed to reach out to people who are not accessing more mainstream and specialist support services.

'For charities, it can be a real stretch to be open seven days a week, but we should always try to be available when people need us.

'If banks can open at weekends, then charities should be able to do the same. Thanks to The Big Lottery Fund, we will soon be able to offer our services across the weekend, which is when people feel most isolated and when many other services close.'

Valerie Petit, chairman of trustees, said: 'We know how vital the support is from our advisors and volunteers. Through their work helping people to reduce debt and to claim the right benefits, people and families in the borough had an additional £2m to spend in the local economy last year.

'This tells us that the work of DIAL doesn't just benefit individuals, it benefits the whole of Great Yarmouth.

'We know how hard we have to work to keep the charity going, and we are grateful for the ongoing support of the Big Lottery Fund, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and most importantly, the people of Great Yarmouth.'