A local housing association has donated more than £500 to buy new boots for Bridport Sea Cadets.

While the cadets are provided with free uniforms, partly loaned by the Royal Navy, they are not supplied with footwear and young recruits were left in “in dire need” of boots.

Trustee Peter Davies subsequently got in touch with Magna, a housing association which provides homes to several cadets’ families.

After applying to its community fund, Magna agreed to £580 to buy 15 pairs of boots in a range of sizes, which are helping the young cadets enjoy fully taking part in activities.

Neil Bliss, Magna’s Customer and Community Involvement Officer, said: “Our community improvement fund exists to help our customers and local communities to thrive. Bridport Sea Cadets’ bid for new boots perfectly met our criteria and we’re thrilled to have been able to help the young cadets enjoy the benefits the group offers.”

The cadets have been active in Bridport for more than 50 years however, during the Covid pandemic membership dropped to just two. After a successful promotion campaign, the group is now back to full strength with 19 members aged between 10 and 17.

Peter Stapleton, the unit’s chairman, said: “Good boots are not cheap, so we’re very grateful to Magna for this grant to enable our cadets to have footwear that will last a long time and look good with their uniforms. The new boots arrived just in time to be 'bulled' for their first appearance at the recent Remembrance parade in Bridport.”