Hewden, the UK's number one plant rental provider, has been lending its support to the renovation of Drighlington Cricket Club as part of the NatWest CricketForce 2008 - an initiative to rejuvenate cricket clubs nationwide with the help of volunteers from the local community.

Hewden provided the club with the use of an excavator, dumper and road roller, as well as two fully trained members of the Hewden team, all completely free of charge. This loan is an extension of Hewden's Green Communities scheme, whereby the company donates plant equipment to local authorities and charities involved in environmental and regenerative projects.

Alan Huddart, General Manager of Product at Hewden said: "As a business, we invest a lot of time and money in the communities where we operate. We are proud to be supporting the rejuvenation of Drighlington cricket club, which will provide the area with some much needed recreational space."

The Club currently runs one senior and three junior cricket teams, and also provides facilities for the Drighlington Park Bowling Club and local rivals Whitehall Cricket Club.

Mike Tomlinson Project co-coordinator at Drighlington Cricket Club said, "For several years we didn't have a team at Drighlington. Now, thanks to the tremendous support of people like Hewden we are up and running again, providing valuable recreational services to the local community."

In addition to the manpower donated by Hewden, a further 40 volunteers including joiners, builders and painters helped with erecting new ground nets, building a new wall, refurbishing the sight screens, repairing the score box, laying new paths and painting the surrounding walls white. It is estimated that without the support of the volunteers and business partners such as Hewden, the planned works would have cost in the region of £5,000.

Hewden's Alan Huddart added, "Hopefully the refurbishment work will encourage and make it possible for more youngsters to get involved in cricket and other sports. A lot has been written about the lack of suitable facilities available for kids and this project demonstrates what can be achieved when the local business community comes together."