AMBITIOUS Cornwood Cricket Club has been become one of the first clubs in the United Kingdom to receive a new Sport England grant.

The South Hams club has received £50,000 from a near £2 million first tranche of cash being spent in the South West.

Cornwood has been handed the cash from Olympic legacy funding in Sport England's £1,967,976 Inspired Facilities Fund.

The cash is being handed out to improve sporting facilities, rather than creating new ones.

Nick Goodliffe, spokesman for the Devon League A Division club, which is based at Oak Park on the edges of Dartmoor, urged other clubs to follow suit and apply for grants.

He said: "Ours is one of the first being awarded in the country, but I am sure that there are other clubs around this area who could do with the money and could benefit from it.

"The good news is that this tranche is the first one of five, so they are not too late to apply."

Goodliffe said the money will be used to replace the club's practice nets, which are getting worn out.

He said: "We are really pleased, because we are a growing club – we've got four men's teams, a ladies' team and youth teams.

"The good thing about this money is that it's a legacy of the Olympic Games.

"People who live around here will have a permanent reminder of the Olympic Games."

The fund is part of the £135 million Places People Play National Lottery-funded legacy programme that is bringing the magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities across England.

All the facilities will carry the London 2012 Inspire mark – celebrating the link to the Games.

Sport England's chair, Richard Lewis, said: "For hundreds of clubs and tens of thousands of people, 2012 will be the year their local sports facilities got better.

"We've had unprecedented demand for this fund, which has really hit the mark with sports clubs in the South West. It shows we're offering the sporting legacy that people want."

The investments will breathe new life into tired facilities that can be unattractive to sports participants, difficult to maintain and run.

Grants have also been offered to convert existing buildings into venues that are suitable for grassroots sport and to allow local clubs to buy the facilities they use.

Goodliffe said: "We put a lot of hard work into the application for the grant, but I think we got it because we can demonstrate our commitment to the community."

Cornwood officials expect work on the new project to begin in February, with a finishing date during the following month.

Work on demolishing the present nets, which are constantly in use, is due to start next week.

New four-lane practice nets are planned for Cornwood.

Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson MP, said: "We want to use the Olympic and Paralympics next summer to inspire a generation to get involved in sport across the South West.

"This is why as part of the £135 million Places People Play legacy programme we invited community sports clubs to apply for funding to upgrade their facilities."

Inspired Facilities has been designed to be as simple and accessible as possible for potential applicants, with a shorter form and a catalogue of ready-made options to choose from.

This is the first of five funding rounds of Inspired Facilities; the second round opens on February 1, 2012, offering hundreds more local groups the chance to bid for a further £10 million of funding.

Cornwood have already benefited from a £55,000 Sport England grant towards their new £428,000 pavilion complex, which opened in May last year after years of fund-raising.