Bexhill Freemasons support scouts

For master of the Bexhill Lodge Ian Standley memories of a highly successful lamb-roast event held at the Conservative Club in June came flooding back as he presented a cheque for 350 to Group Scout Leader Janice Gammon on Wednesday morning.

The money will go to the fund to rebuild the 9th's Wainwright Road headquarters which were destroyed in the April wheelie bin arson attack.

The master had been pleased to welcome 18 masons, their partners and friends to the lamb roast. The lodge's gift to the Scouts was the proceeds of a raffle held at the event.

He told the Observer: "Personally, having been involved as a Scout with the 9th Bexhill and later as a Leader - and my wife, Marion, helped with the Cubs - it gives us great pleasure to present this cheque to from the Bexhill Lodge to the 9th Scouts for their new headquarters.

"We are pleased to give this great organisation our support and we will continue to do so."

So far, the Scouts have raised around 20,000 of the 80,000 they need.

Thanking Ian Standley, Janice Gammon said: "This is just another example of the wonderful generosity that the Bexhill community has shown us.

"Given this amount of support I think we will reach our target in no time at all."

Freemasons across the county are committed to a Sussex For Sussex campaign which has raised more than 1m for registered charities in the county in less than two years.

All but 80,000 has already been awarded, the largest contribution being a 150,000 gift to the Sussex Air Ambulance Appeal.