The Mayor of Highworth Nick Gardiner revealed his chosen charity at a Highworth Town Council meeting on Tuesday.

In his first council meeting as Mayor, he announced that he will be fundraising for youth charity Highworth Youth Nexus throughout his mayoral year.

Councillor Gardiner is also the chair of trustees at the charity and was involved in its launch.

At the council meeting, he said: "It's a Highworth charity which puts a lot back into the local community and I'm very keen to see it grow."

The charity, also known as the Nexus Project, provides young people from Highworth and its surrounding areas with an after-school youth cafe in the cellars of Puddleducks that has a mentoring service and regularly hosts music, comedy and poetry events.

It acts as a focal point where children aged 11 to 16 can meet, develop skills and engage with the wider community in a secure and safe environment.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "We are absolutely delighted to be supported in this way by Nick Gardiner.

"Nick and Highworth Town Council have been very supportive of what we are trying to achieve from the very beginning of the project and we really appreciate it. "We became a registered charity in August 2016 so we are still very new on the scene and this will raise the profile of Highworth Youth Nexus and all that we are doing for young people in Highworth and surrounding areas.

"It will also help to provide much needed funding so that we can continue to grow and develop what we are doing."

The charity relies on funding from Highworth Town Council, local businesses and churches, plus individual donations, to keep going.

For more information, visit nexusproject.co.uk