A group of York travellers who angrily rejected a major Lottery award and thought it had been put on ice are furious after discovering the cash is due to be paid out.

A storm of protest blew up when the National Lottery Charities Board awarded York Travellers' Trust more than £180,000 to set up residents' associations on three travellers' sites at Clifton Moor, Osbaldwick and James Street, York, and fund a centrally-based advice centre.

The news came the day after Lottery chiefs turned down a separate bid by St Leonard's Hospice for £1 million.

But some travellers said they didnot want or need the cash and claimed the Trust applied for the money without their knowledge. They wanted it to go to more deserving causes.

Travellers spokesman Thomas Swales said he contacted the Lottery with their protests, after learning of the award in October last year, and was told it would be put on hold while the body looked into the situation.

But now a letter from the Lottery to Trust co-ordinator Tony White, which shows the Trust could get the first instalments of its three-year award by the end of this month, has come to his attention.

Mr Swales claims the documents were anonymously dropped through his door on Sunday.

He said: "I couldn't believe it. We thought the whole thing had been put on ice, but obviously it hasn't.

"The travellers don't want this money and they are very angry about this."

But Sylvia Dunn, president of the National Gypsy Women's Association, said the project was a vital step forward and had the support of travellers in York and across the country.

She said: "It is the first time we have had a project of this size in Britain and we really need it.

"If we don't back this and work at it we will be doing ourselves and our children a great disservice."

A statement from York Travellers' Trust said the project "aims to support travellers in the York area - when needed and when requested - in self-help initiatives in education, health and housing."

It aims to have travellers taking the reins by the end of the Trust's three-year life span.

"One of the early priorities of the Trust will be to encourage the participation in the Trust at every level of travellers themselves," the statement continued.

It added that the Trust's Lottery award had not been at the expense of other charities, such as St Leonard's Hospice.

Helen Wollaston, regional manager for the National Lottery Charities Board, said the award had been put on hold while it was looked into at a meeting with the Trust in December.

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