The government has announced an extra £880,000 to help fight violent crime in Lincolnshire and Rutland.

The money will go towards Violence Reduction Units, which bring together organisations across local communities to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes.

The units also fund vital local projects doing positive preventative work with children and young people.

The move has been welcomed by Rutland MP Alicia Kearns, who sees it as an example of the government's committment to tackling violent crime.

The MP continued: "We are one of 18 areas across England and Wales, getting a share of the £35.5 million total pot provided by Government.

"I continue to raise issues related to rural and organised crime with the Government, and with our local police services."

The extra cash takes the total invested in Violence Reduction Units to more than £105 million nationally.

Launched two years ago, initiatives funded by the scheme supported more than 100,000 young people in their first year, more than 51,000 of whom were identified as being at high-risk of being involved in criminal and violent activity.

They also helped bring police, education leaders, health workers and local government together to share information about the causes of violence and agree a coordinated plan of action to tackle it.

This is crucial to preventing crime at a local level, the government has said and the extra funding means that they can continue this vital work.

Rutland's Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach received a similar amount to set up a Violence Rediction Unit two years ago, as previously reported by Nub News.

Last month, Lord Bach announced funding for various schemes to help prevent violence across Leicestershire and Rutland, as also reported by Nub News.