THREE communities are about to receive a dream makeover, thanks to the Daily Echo and Barclays.

The lucky winners of the £10,000 Community Makeover Competition have been presented with their prize cheques.

And they are now eagerly planning how to spend the money to make a real difference to their local communities.

The winner of the competition, which was run in conjunction with Barclays, was the 5th Highcliffe/ Christchurch Scout Group, which receives £5,000.

They will use the money to renovate the scout hut to include a brand new kitchen and disabled access.

Chair Julie Smithyman said: "We are over the moon to win this competition. It is absolutely fantastic news for us.

"This money will make such a difference. At the moment our kitchen consists of little more than a work surface and a sink.

"This money will enable us to give our Scouts, Cubs and Beavers a fantastic kitchen facility."

The second prize of £3,000 was won by Oakdale Youth Club in Poole and will be spent redecorating the club's hall and creating storage facilities.

The third prize of £2,000 went to Linwood School in Bournemouth and will help provide a sensory garden for their children who are disabled or have special needs.

The Daily Echo-backed competition was designed to give something back to the community and make a difference to local good causes.

Community groups were invited to nominate themselves for selection and an independent panel had the tough job of choosing the six finalists.

Daily Echo readers then had the responsibility of voting and collecting tokens to choose the three winners.