A charity supporting vulnerable families in Harwich has been given a Christmas boost after winning more than £300,000 in Lottery funding.

Home-Start Harwich has been awarded £319,557 towards its Armbands in Deep Water project from the Big Lottery Fund’s Reaching Communities programme.

The charity helps families with children with a range of issues, including domestic violence, disability, bereavement or debt, by offering one-to-one support and early intervention in the family home.

Armbands in Deep Water will now allow it to work with parents with at least one child aged 11 or under, rather than its current limit of a child under the age of five.

The charity will also use the funding to increase the level of home visits, particularly targeting parents suffering from depression and anxiety, and offer them more advice with budgeting or getting help from the Citizens Advice Bureaus as financial worries are a common cause of these mental health problems.

A spokesman for the charity said it was pleased with the funding.