Trustees at the Sid Valley Memory Café are confident of appointing an Admiral Nurse this year - after receiving £10,000 from a bequest fund controlled by civic leaders.

The five-figure sum from the Woolley Bequest was decided on by Sidmouth Town Council this week.

In addition, the council has also pledged a total of £25,000 to the project over the next five years - so that Sidmouth can keep its Admiral Nurse when it has one.

Cyril Woolley left more than £166,200 to the council in 2007 to be used on things that would benefit the elderly and the sick in the town and its surrounding areas.

In his will, Mr Woolley wrote that it was his wish that the money should be used ‘for the pleasure, happiness or welfare’ of those living in and around Sidmouth.

Councillor Jeff Turner, chairman of the town council, said: “There has been a tremendous donation from the town and we wanted to try and do something.”

The £10,000 donation will be formally presented to the memory café in April. It takes the total for the Admiral Nurse Campaign to £64,000.

The Woolley Bequest will also boost the campaign once the dementia specialist is in post, as councillors agreed to donate subsequent £5,000 donations to the campaign for five years. The first instalment will come into place once the dementia specialist has been appointed.

Cllr Turner said members agreed to donate 10 per cent of the memory café’s total target, as the charity would need to raise £50,000 every year for the nurse’s services.

Cllr Turner added: “Once we have the nurse, we want to keep her.

“I hope that they [the memory café] can find some way to find the rest of the money.”

Memory café trustee Adrian Ford said: “I think it is the best new year’s present we could get.

"With this, I feel confident that we will get our Admiral Nurse in 2016.”

Duncan Watts, the memory café’s chairman of trustees, said that the donation would be instrumental in future years of fundraising.

He added: “It is really an amazing thing that the town council is embracing it [the campaign].

“An Admiral Nurse is not just for one year.”

Mr Watts said that the memory café was hoping to secure more ‘big ticket’ funding to propel the campaign towards its £100,000 target.

“We are getting very close, but there is still more than 35,000 to go,” said Mr Watts.

“I will be writing a letter to the town council expressing how grateful we are.

“We are absolutely thrilled. Full marks to the council.”