LONELY grandparents in Droitwich may soon find themselves "adopted" by a youngster.

A cash grant to a voluntary service in the town means the project could soon be underway.

It will form one part of a three-pronged scheme to tackle isolation in the town.

Droitwich Spa and Rural Council for Voluntary Service has been awarded the cash from the New Opportunities Fund, which hands out lottery money.

"We've been awarded the money for the Droitwich Margin to Mainstream Project which we are leading," said Sue Poyer, manager of the voluntary service.

"We applied for the money and, on the scale of things, our application was extremely modest. We tailored the bid for the size of Droitwich."

The organisation has been handed £201,334 to fund three part-time health development workers for three years.

One will work with older people, including advising on "ageing well" courses and developing the "adopt a grandparent" scheme.

Another health development worker will concentrate on reducing the isolation of women and the other on the isolation and well-being of men.

"Men don't tend to take very good care of themselves, so they will find health roadshows coming to them offering basic health checks and information," added Mrs Poyer.

"The money is to provide the salaries for the workers and to help them instigate various activities that we feel will be helpful to local people.

The project also aims to raise health awareness and reduce dependency on alcohol and prescription drugs.