More than 40 events held under the Brightlingsea WinterFest banner during February and early March raised nearly £7,400.

The marathon fundraising effort means that the WinterFest Wellbeing fund now has just over £11,000 available for grants to help Brightlingsea residents and organisations. A donation of £1,239 is also being made to the mental health charity, Mid and North East Essex Mind.

The 10th annual WinterFest encompassed a wide range of music, arts, spoken word, wellbeing and other events, with the Brightlingsea Literary Festival running alongside – all with the aim of reducing winter blues and boosting community spirit.

WinterFest co-founder Dave Griffiths said: “We had an incredible programme of events for the special 10th anniversary WinterFest and had a great response from people in Brightlingsea.

Alix Sheppard, who co-founded Brightlingsea WinterFest with Dave Griffiths said: “We are delighted that WinterFest was such a success in our 10th anniversary year and we want to give a massive thank you to local people for all their support. We really are so lucky to have such an amazing community.”

The Wellbing Fund provides individuals or families with the opportunity to pay for items or activities to promote physical and mental health and wellbeing – such as family days out, sports and leisure activities, music or art tuition, workshops or related travel and equipment. It can also be used to fund items such as aids for mobility or accessibility – or for online courses to support learning and inclusion. People of all ages can apply, including volunteers and carers.

An application form can be found online at brightlingseawinterfest.co.uk/winterfest-wellbeing-fund.