An award-winning dance club has launched a new Wrexham group thanks to cash seized from criminals.

Wisp Dance Club has transformed the lives of hundreds of young people with disabilities since being founded by Artistic Director Cher Mather in Mold in 1994.

Building on almost three decades of success, the club has launched a new group, Wisp Plus, based in Wrexham, and inspiring adults with additional needs to explore the world of contemporary dance and movement.

They received a grant of £2,500 from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Your Community, Your Choice Fund which has been instrumental in getting the new project off the ground.

The initiative, also supported by the North Wales Police and Community Trust (PACT) and North Wales Police, is in its ninth year.

More than £400,000 has been handed out to deserving causes and much of it has been recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act, with the rest coming from Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin.

Read more: Cash seized from criminals to benefit North Wales communities

Uma O’Neill, project manager, and lead tutor at Wisp said: “We are one of the only specialist organisations in North Wales that deliver this work.

“Covid has been very hard for us as a lot of our participants had to shield and it's only now people are starting to come back because they were very frightened.

“This work can reconnect people and build their confidence and support our members to live fulfilling lives.

“This grant is going to secure provision so that we will have enough members to continue moving forward. Without this grant, that just wouldn’t happen.”

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Wisp Plus welcomed 10 members aged between 20 and 60 to their first session and hopes many more will join in the coming months: “We are about supporting our members, listening to their needs, and championing their abilities and voices,” said Uma.

“We are completely inclusive. We have members who are wheelchair-bound, we have members who have difficulties both physical and mental – we don’t turn away anyone.”

Congratulating the dance group on its new venture, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin said: “I am delighted that my Your Community Your Choice fund continues to support community projects across North Wales.

“This unique fund is a demonstration of people's power in action because it allows our communities to decide which projects should get financial support through our online voting system.

“There is an element of poetic justice in using money obtained through crime to address the problem of crime in our communities.

“It’s turning bad money into good and it’s making a real difference because it is local people who recognise and understand their local issues and how to solve them.”

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PACT chair Ashley Rogers said: “These awards are important because they support community projects right across North Wales and it’s the communities themselves that decide where the money can best be spent.

 “A lot of what we fund is aimed at providing something for young people to get involved within their spare time, activities that can help to build skills and positive physical and mental health.

“Community groups and projects can do a great deal to make communities safer, reduce crime and reduce re-offending, it also sends a good message to the communities because it shows we are listening to them.

“The aim is to build up resilience in communities across North Wales to help vulnerable people and combat things like County Lines.”

For more information on Wisp Dance Club visit: https://wispdanceclub.com/