CARDIGAN Art Society (CAS) has celebrated its success at being named Art Club of the Year 2017 by handing over a £500 voucher for art materials to a local charity.

A five-strong team from the art society - Clare Howell, David Clinch, Jan Brown, John Edwards and Helen Rowlands – were successful in winning the title at the prestigious Patchings Art Festival in Nottingham.

They beat off competition from 45 other art clubs throughout the UK and as part of their prize, they have been given £500 worth of Jacksons art materials, which they have now donated to mental health charity HUTS.

The Newcastle Emlyn-based charity is the only one of its kind in West Wales supporting adults with mental health challenges, running a well-equipped craft workshop, where members can boost their life-skills and confidence and explore their creativity through artistic expression.

The charity currently has more than 120 people using its facilities on the banks of the River Teifi.

Art society chairman Marion Dawe said: “We are so proud to have won the title and rather than divide up the prize, we all decided that HUTS would have more use of the materials than anyone else.”

HUTS manager Sally Chorley said: “We really appreciate this donation and will let our members decide what they need and what they want to spend the money on.

“We have undertaken a couple of field trips recently and it would be great for people to have art materials for drawing and illustrations, which can provide such good therapy.

"We could not do these sort of things without the support we receive from the local community.”