Public transport in Gainsborough is to get a £1.85m boost, the Government has announced.

The money will go towards improvements at Lea Road Railway Station, as well as drawing up plans for redeveloping the facilities at the town centre bus station.

Some bus stops in Gainsborough are to get real-time displays, which count down the time until next bus will arrive.

The money will also pay for new bus stop facilities in Church Street, while cycle paths and pedestrian pathways will be extended to new housing developments outside the town.

The money is part of a Government scheme to improve the infrastructure in areas where large numbers of new homes are set to be built.

Gainsborough is one of those "growth points", and is due to more than double in the next 20 years from a population of about 18,000 to close to 40,000.

Duncan Sharkey, chief executive of West Lindsey District Council, said that with three new neighbourhoods planned for the outskirts of the market town, some of its "fairly basic" bus and train facilities needed to be upgraded.

"The infrastructure at the moment is designed to cope with a market town of 16,000, not 40,000," he said.

"If we're going to double in size we're going to need a lot more than we've got now."

He said the process was "already in full swing", adding: "We're delighted that everybody has the same belief in Gainsborough that we have."

The Department for Communities and Local Government, which announced the funding, said building work would start "in the coming months".

The money will also pay for drawing up a "comprehensive transport strategy" for Gainsborough, the Government said, as well as work to upgrade the town's road junctions.

For the full story see Thursday's Lincolnshire Echo.