THE Mayor of Swindon handed over a cheque for £1,000 to his chosen charities after a successful fundraiser.

Coun Abdul Amin hosted members of the ‘Team Swindon’ Bangladeshi community who organised a UK-wide badminton tournament in Swindon last month. 

Contributions from the event raised a four-figure sum in support of STEP Swindon & Zam Zam Trust.

The cheque handover officially took place at the Civic Offices on Euclid Street this week.

Coun Amin said: "This will make a big difference. I wanted to bring communities together, especially the younger generation, and the best way to do that is through sport. The teams were from different communities, it was wonderful."

STEP Swindon helps young people around the town, and The ZamZam Trust supports projects that tackle poverty in Bangladesh.

Overall, 80 teams from across the country - including teams as far afield as Cambridge - attended the tournament.

The mayor is in the process of organising football and cricket tournaments which he hopes, along with the badminton competition, will become annual events.

For more information about either of the mayor's chosen charities, visit https://stepswindon.co.uk/ and https://zamzamtrust.org/