A Cornish netball club has received one of its biggest-ever sponsorship boosts as it bids to recover from a financial crisis.

The Lastonet club, with members from as far afield as Truro, Newquay and St Ives practising and playing at Pool College, Redruth, faced an uncertain future earlier this year.

One of the club's longest-serving players, Sarah Folland of Truro, decided to mount a fund-raising campaign, writing to various companies, organisations and individuals seeking sponsorship.

Now she has come up trumps with a £1,000 boost - the biggest so far in the current campaign - from Redruth-based Lowena Homes Ltd.

Lowena Homes managing director David Worlledge commented: "We were hugely impressed by Sarah's initiative and enormous enthusiasm. We are very anxious to support the community in which we operate and when we heard of all the good work this club is doing, but with such limited resources, we were only too pleased to help."

Sarah secured a meeting with Mr Worlledge and told him that too much of the burden - including dipping into their own pockets - was falling on the club's founders and kingpins, Peter and Lorna Gribble, of Redruth.

"I'm a 40-something player who has had many years' great pleasure with the club, and I decided it just wasn't fair to carry on with so much weight on Peter and Lorna's shoulders. Back in May the club was unmistakably in financial straits."

To date, Sarah has secured a total of £2,050 and says she will continue her fund-raising campaign indefinitely.

The money will go towards such things as new kit, general running costs and courses for enhanced coaching qualifications, leading to better development opportunities for the club's upcoming players.

"One of the key aims of the club is to attract young members and bring them on, starting in the junior teams and progressing to senior levels, improving their skills and hopefully realising their full potential," explains Sarah. "We want to get more qualified coaches and officials within the club."

Lastonet currently has four teams in the Cornwall Netball League, in Divisions One, Two, Four and Five.

One of the club's junior teams will move into the senior league this season, starting in Division Six, and the club also runs Under-12, Under-14 and Under-15 squads.