Young people in the Sid Valley will soon have a new source of support for mental health problems, thanks to the ‘amazing’ response to a fundraising appeal.

The Headlight youth programme, already running in Ottery St Mary and Axminster, is set to open in Sidmouth in April.

The scheme is run by Action East Devon and provides friendly, informal, non-clinical support for emotional and mental health issues.

In November the Wellbeing and Health Action Team (WHAT) appealed for £10,000 to enable Action East Devon to run Headlight in Sidmouth for a year.

In response, Sidmouth Parish Church raised more than £6,000.

Further donations came from Sidmouth Primary School, Sidmouth College, the town council, the Norman Family Trust, councillor Stuart Hughes's locality budget, and individuals, some of whom were anonymous.

Di Fuller, from WHAT, said: "The Sidmouth community was amazing."

"Thanks to this generous support, we now have well over the amount of money that we need."