A campaign group determined to spruce up a neglected piece of land have been given a grant to help their cause.

The Long Lane Pasture Trust is transforming the two-acre site in Finchley into a haven for the community to enjoy.

Now run entirely on volunteers, it relies solely on donations to keep open so the trust was offered a £4,000 grant by the Postcode Lottery.

It will be spent on buying a ride-on-mower with attachments as well as a brush cutter.

Dennis Pepper, chairman of the LLP Trust, said: “These will make a huge difference for us.

“No longer will we have to depend on hired equipment which either wasn’t available when we needed it or broke down when we had it.”

He described the field as previously being a 'bramble covered wasteland'.

It was bought by Barnet Council in February 1912 and was originally used for hay-making and grazing horses.

In 1914, it survived the threat of a new railway, in 1925 it was cut in half by the North Circular and in 1940 it was used to grow food during the war.

More recently, in the 1980s it was closed for potential use as a builder’s depot and in 1999 it was threatened with a housing development.

It was also offered Green Flag status earlier this year, meaning it is officially one of the best green spaces in the country.

Under the postcode lottery, players enter their postcodes to win cash prizes for a good cause.

Mr Pepper added: “We are immensely grateful to the People’s Postcode Lottery players.”