An equestrian centre that helps disabled riders has received a welcome boost after Hadleigh town council agreed to give them more than they asked for and boosted their grant to £2,000.

Councillors agreed the requested grant of £1,500 last night (Thursday) to The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding at Shelley Road, Hadleigh after the charity suffered a set back due to the pandemic restrictions.

But after hearing further details of their work, and additional information from Cllr Carol Schleip who has had personal experience at the centre, a motion by Cllr Andrew Knock to bump the figure up to £2,000 was voted through unanimously.

The Shelley Centre helps riders of all abilities to ride and enjoy the wide benefits, physically and mentally of horse riding.

The centre also hosts a sophisticated robotic system, which can emulate the walk, trot and canter paces of a real horse thus enabling riders who for various reasons cannot ride an actual horse to experience the therapeutic benefits of horse riding.