THE North York Moors Railway is to receive almost £300,000 from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

The £296,000 grant will help fund the restoration of key bridges on the heritage railway’s route across the moors from Pickering to Whitby.

Just over £1.5 million has been awarded to organisations in Yorkshire in the latest round of funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, announced by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

The Thackray Museum in Leeds is to benefit from £174,000 to restore the Grade II listed former workhouse building which houses the medical collection, which will also be the focus of refreshed displays.

Reel Cinemas has been awarded £1.5 million to support 13 multiplexes crucial to the economic and cultural recovery of communities, including Wakefield.

Mr Dowden said: “From restoring Georgian lidos and Roman baths to saving local screens and synagogues, our Culture Recovery Fund is helping to save the places people can’t wait to get back to, when it is safe to do so.

“All over the country, this funding is protecting the venues that have shaped our history and make us proud of our communities, whilst safeguarding the livelihoods of the people that work in them.”