PEOPLE in the Okehampton area are being urged to vote online for a new wheelchair accessible minibus for the Okehampton Community Transport Association.

The association is asking the Aviva Community Fund for between £10,000 and £25,000 to replace one of its two minibuses.

Voting is open until November 21 at https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/17-2039, and everyone registering gets 10 votes which can be used towards the same project. Some 500 projects across the country have been selected to pitch for funding, with the projects attracting the most support receiving the money.

Association co-ordinator Sue Wonnacott said: ‘We have got two minibuses at the moment, but one is getting elderly and obviously it is costing us quite a bit to keep on the road, so we want to upgrade it. Because of the nature of the service we provide, it needs to be reliable, so we need a new one. It will cost us about £30,000.’

She added that the closure of in-patient beds at Okehampton Hospital had led to a greater demand for the association’s services.

‘We have had many more wheelchair requests recently because people are being encouraged to stay at home and be independent,’ she said. ‘We are much busier, and our administration has gone up tremendously.’