A charity has won a £103,327 grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme for a new, specially-adapted minibus.

Skipton and Craven Action for Disability (SCAD) will purchase and operate the minibus – the seventh in its fleet – to provide a reliable transport service in the Keighley area and help reduce isolation among disabled people.

It will collect disabled people from their homes and provide transport to attend appointments, leisure and social activities, and to go shopping.

Local care homes and Manorlands Hospice will also be able to use the minibus to take residents on days out.

Roy Aldread, chief executive officer of SCAD, said: “The charity’s objects are to provide for the welfare of disabled people and to assist their integration into society, thus providing a feeling of wellbeing and a better quality of life.”

SCAD already has six minibuses operating in Craven and the new vehicle will specifically target people in the outlying areas of Keighley.

Mr Aldread said: “This grant will now enable the charity to concentrate its essential transport service to disabled people living in and around Keighley.

“This subsidised service will provide for individual members of the charity and for those in care homes, nursing homes and hospices, taking them to hospital appointments, doctors appointments, dentists, chiropodists and organised day trips.

“This funding will initially provide for the purchase of a new 16-seater minibus fitted out with full disability facilities, including a wheelchair lift, plus the running costs of the project over the next three years.”

Vanessa White, the Big Lottery Fund’s head of region for Yorkshire and The Humber, said: “A lack of suitable transport can leave people very isolated, even more so if they live in rural areas and have mobility problems.

“This grant will be used to provide a vital service for disabled people in the Keighley area, improving wellbeing by providing an opportunity to get out and about, access services and socialise.”