Charities and non-profit groups supporting young people in the Honiton, Axminster and Seaton areas are being invited to apply for £5,000 grants.

Tesco will be giving out a total of £300,000 across the UK, and will share out the cash between 60 organisations.

Priority will be given to projects providing food or support to young people, such as school breakfast clubs and food banks – or charities providing mental health support.

The deadline for applications is Sunday, February 6.

This initiative is in addition to Tesco Community Grants, the in-store scheme where customers vote with blue tokens for the local projects they would like to support.

Under that scheme Honiton Community College received £1,000 towards developing a sensory garden, and Seaton's YHA was given £1,000 to host 90 disadvantaged young people from England and Wales for an event to build confidence, develop social skills and make happy memories.

Listeners to Heart and Smooth radio stations can hear how to apply for the £5,000 grants, and information can also be found on the Tesco Community Grant scheme website.

Claire de Silva, head of community at Tesco, said: “We know the start of the year can be tough for many families financially, so we wanted to find a way to give something extra to the communities our stores support across the country.

“We hope that Heart and Smooth listeners will help us celebrate all the community groups who make such a difference to young people and families, not just in January but year-round too. We’re really proud to be launching this new campaign, which is an extra boost to our Tesco Community Grants scheme that already helps thousands of people every year.”

Graham Duxbury, chief executive at Groundwork, the charity that works with Tesco on community initiatives, said: “For many people the combination of money worries and the ongoing impact of the pandemic is making the start of 2022 a challenging time.

“That’s why it’s so important that we continue to support the local charities and community groups who work tirelessly to provide essential services and bring people together in neighbourhoods across the country. Money is tight for many of these groups too, so we’re delighted to be working with Tesco to make extra funds available so that they can expand their activities and help more people.”