PORTISHEAD Yacht and Sailing Club has been awarded more than £600 toward the cost of repairs needed following violent storms earlier this the year.

The £660 has been donated from Sport England’s flood relief fund and has helped pay for a timber bridge to be built along Mariners Path which was swept away by high tides and heavy rain.

The path lies between the club’s storage compound and its slipway so when it collapsed it prevented the club from launching any dinghies on to the water.

It also meant coastal walkers could not access a number of footpaths in the area.

When carrying out the repairs, the club was supported by North Somerset Council which approved the design and oversaw the construction of the bridge.

Sport England set up its £5million flood relief fund in February in a bid to help clean up and repair sport pitches and facilities devastated by the storms.

Jennie Price, chief executive of Sport England said: “The storms and floods devastated many sports facilities across England. We want to play our part in helping communities get back to normal, and we are delighted to be able to get this emergency funding to Portishead Yacht and Sailing Club to help it get back up and running.”

Club commodore Steve Gill said “We are delighted Sport England has awarded us a significant contribution towards the overall cost of reinstating the footpath so that the club was able to have another full season of events.”