GUIDES in Potters Bar are looking forward to celebrating in style, after a councillor donated £1,500 to their centenary fund.

The Potters Bar District Guides are marking 100 years next May and the party should go with a swing thanks to John Usher, county councillor for Potters Bar and Shenley, who pledged the money from his locality budget.

Joanne Weaver, district commissioner for Girlguiding Potters Bar, said: "It’s amazing to receive this grant from the county council. It means that we can invite all 340 members from the Rainbows, Brownies and the Guides to our celebration weekend and by keeping costs down we should get an excellent turnout.”

Special events are being held all over the country next year to mark 100 years of Girlguiding and the Potters Bar group is organising a weekend camp at Well End in Borehamwood.

Cllr Usher said: “Guiding opens up a world of opportunities for girls and gives them the confidence to do something positive in their communities.

“The celebrations in Potters Bar will bring the district’s Rainbows, Brownies and Guides together and I’m very pleased to be able to contribute to their centenary weekend.”

Locality budgets of £10,000 per county councillor were launched in July with the funding to be used for worthy social, economic or environmental causes in Hertfordshire.

For more information on the grants, visit www.hertsdirect.org and type 'locality budgets' into the search box.