More than £1million has now been given out to charities and community groups in Cornwall through Tesco’s Bags of Help scheme.

The scheme is run in conjunction with the charity Groundwork and the £1million figure for the county has been reached in only four years.

Tesco customers vote in-store for their preferred Bags of Help local project, using the blue token given to them at the checkout. Every two months Tesco hands out grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 in each of its towns.

Among the recent grants awarded was £1,000 to Kowethas An Yeth Kernewek, an organisation that encourages families to learn more about the Cornish language.

The group’s latest initiative is Dos Ha Gwari – 'come and play’ - based at Heartlands, near Redruth, where it organises a range of activities for children and families, using play and informal education.

Emma Jenkin, coordinator for the group, said: “We’re very grateful to Tesco for this funding. It will enable us to work with families in the heart of Cornwall to broaden the learning and understanding of Kernewek.

“This will help to develop a better understanding and appreciation of Cornish history, culture and society through speaking and learning more about the language.”

Rhodri Evans, Tesco’s communications manager for the West of England, described Kowethas An Yeth Kernewek as a “great example” of funds going to projects that are important to the local community.

He added: ““Bags of Help has been a fantastic success and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response from customers who get to decide how the money will be spent in their community.”

Bags of Help has seen £71million fund more than 23,000 local projects across the UK.

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. Anyone can nominate a project and organisations can apply online. To find out more visit tesco.com/bagsofhelp.