A CASH giveaway has been announced for worthy causes in Worcester - with £100,000 going towards helping the vulnerable.

The body which oversees the Hopmarket, a courtyard of independent retailers off Foregate Street, is giving grants to 17 different organisations this year.

The allocations are decided by a committee of Worcester councillors, who sit down and go through applications for cash every year.

The money comes from rental income from the shops, with one of this year's big winners being the Maggs Day Centre which is getting £12,100.

Armchair, which collects, stores and delivers unwanted furniture to the needy got £4,950 while Perdiswell Young People’s Leisure Club was awarded £2,400.

This year 22 different bodies asked for up to £199,000 in grants, meaning some got nothing and all but three organisations had to accept less than they bid for.

During a meeting of the Hopmarket sub-committee Councillor Gareth Jones said: "We've only got £100,000 to give away and we had £199,000 worth of bids, so we've always got to look at it carefully.

"We used some scoring methodology to come up with the figures and they were all fairly scored and assessed, in my view.

"We've been inundated."

Councillor Roger Berry said: "This just shows the difficulty we've got in terms of how to allocate resources with a limited amount of money.

"With all the cuts the county council has made to some of these groups, it's a litany of desperation in the city.

"There is no perfect solution because to give them all what they want is an impossible situation."

All the applicants were asked to complete forms on the sum they wanted, and detail what they offer Worcester people.

All Saints Foodbank got the full £3,000 it asked for, while The Cedar Tree, a pregnancy and post-abortion help centre in the city got £600.

Dial South Worcestershire, a disability advice group, got £2,070 and Footsteps, which helps bereaved children got £2,000.

The West Worcester Live at Home Scheme secured £1,930 while the Citizens Advice Bureau got £14,850.

Worcester Action for Youth was offered £1,650 and Worcester Community Trust got £20,00 for a project to help domestic abuse victims.

The trust also got £16,500 for play activities for young people, and Worcester Snoezelen, which helps people with learning difficulties got £7,200.

Worcester Play Council got £3,500 and Worcestershire Lifestyles, a disabled support group was offered £5,150.