The West Yorkshire Archive Service (WYAS) has received £158,200 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in a bid to encourage local community groups to play an active role in heritage conservation.

'West Yorkshire - Our Stories' has been established by the service to help encourage people to bring their own heritage to life through the provision of archival training, the promotion of new initiatives and to improve access to the WYAS archives. One of the five WYAS projects will include a 'Sporting Heroes' archive, with the organisation liaising with local communities and clubs in a bid to document the history of sport in the region, which will also involve major teams.

Three new staff members will be employed by WYAS, which is funded by the five West Yorkshire Metropolitan District Councils, to help deliver the project over the next three-and-a-half years.