FIVE arts and heritage projects will benefit from a share of a £60,000 pot from the Herefordshire's a Great Place 'Hidden Gems' grant scheme.

The projects which will receive £12,000 include Painting with Light from the Sidney Nolan Trust, which will finish with open air projection mapping onto the exterior of the Grade II listed buildings on Herefordshire/Welsh border.

Inside Out from Herefordshire Museum Service are also in line for the windfall, with the project bringing objects from the Museum Resource & Learning Centre into non-museum places and spaces in unusual and unexpected ways.

They are being funded through Great Place's Hidden Gems scheme which is designed to pilot new approaches to place heritage at the heart of communities.

Great Place is co-funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, with support from Historic England and local partners including Herefordshire Council.

Lauren Rogers, from the Great Place team in Herefordshire, said there is a growing appetite in the county for cultural events that are digitally-engaged and collaborative.

"One of our main aims is to put arts and heritage at the centre of people's lives and, for me, the Hidden Gems projects are at the heart of that," she said.

"They are proof that good access to arts and heritage has a direct impact on how we feel about where we live, on our identity, our economy, and our well-being. Culture is crucial."

The other projects to receive the funding are The Stories of Ella Mary Leather from MASH Cinema, Gilpin 2020 from the Wye Valley Learning Network and Our Man in the Moone from Everybody Dance.

Anne Jenkins, from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "If it weren't for National Lottery players buying tickets every week there would be no funding to support fantastic projects such as Hidden Gems.

"It has been wonderful to hear about the success of the Great Place Scheme, and how the Hidden Gems project in particular has helped to engage more people and reach new audiences."