A GROUP'S dream of restoring the home of a beloved poet is one step closer to realisation thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

For almost two years the team at the Norman Nicholson Society, in Millom, have worked tirelessly to preserve his childhood home in St George's Terrace.

The group are jubilant after learning their application for grant money from the Heritage Lottery Fund was successful, netting them £9,900.

The money brings the group one step closer to a future six-figure purchase and restoration of the late, great poet's home.

Charlie Lambert, chairman of the NNS, said: "It's been several months of hard work to put an application together, then wondering what the verdict would be.

"It was a fantastic moment learning we'd been successful; it's a great reward for the work we've done, but the biggest thing is that the lottery now supports us."

The group spent months crafting a proposal for the HLF, their plan to spend the grant money on carrying out a feasibility study on the house.

In order to secure further funding, the NNS need to prove the house can be successfully turned into a viable heritage location.

If all goes to plan, the group may soon be at the end of a journey which began in 2016.

Mr Lambert said: "It was in 2016 when we thought we would like to save the house. The longer the house stayed on the market, the more we began to think what would happen to it.

"We should know by Christmas if we're in a good enough position to put in a second grant application for the six-figure sum that we need to do the work."

Mr Lambert said the group will not "put the cart before the horse", saying there was a great deal of work left to do.

However, he added: "If we're successful the Norman Nicholson House will be a huge asset to Millom and the whole area.

"It will attract people to the town, literary enthusiasts, academics, and it will be fantastic for the schools and schoolchildren in the area."