Kendal golf club have 'smashed' their fundraising goal after launching an appeal to help their groundskeeper.

The club were aiming to raise £5000 to bring in new equipment to replace their ageing machinery, with the campaign starting back in November.

On Wednesday, the club revealed that they had managed to exceed expectations, with £5,245 coming in, along with an estimated amount of £1155 from gift aid.

A spokesperson said: "A huge thank you [goes] to everyone that donated to our crowdfunding campaign to get Dickie [the club's resident groundskeeper] his new Turf Cutter.

"It has been put straight into action with our practice bunker receiving a little makeover."

Staff and volunteers at the club do not intend to slow down though, with the excess money hopefully going towards a new trailer to help with the removal and moving of turf.

If even more money comes in, the club is aspiring to bring in a new fairway mower too to make the upkeep of the grounds a much smoother process.

"As with any small volunteer led business, we have found it hard since the pandemic to raise the funds, on top of general running costs," the club explained.

"The new Turf Cutter will be used to initially help replace our 13th, 14th & 18th tee's but then hopefully we can start a full tee re-laying project."

Having been established in 1891, Kendal Golf Club has made itself a vital component of the local community and the level of support it has received in the past few months has highlighted the love locals have for it.

"From the day our golf club was founded, we have always rented the land off our local council who are adamant that it remains accessible to the people of Kendal, therefore any improvements we make will benefit the community as a whole.

"We know that the new tees won't improve those views but the constant improvements we are planning on making here will help keep the club strong and stable for future generations to enjoy."