Almost £1m is being injected into a Great Yarmouth landmark site which has been home to many of the town's biggest sporting events.

The Wellesley Recreation Ground, which is home to what is considered to be the oldest football stand still in use in Britain, is receiving £972,078 from organisations such as the government's Football Foundation, the Premier League and Great Yarmouth Borough Council to improve grassroots facilities.

This comes as Great Yarmouth Football Club, which uses the site as its home ground, celebrates its 125th anniversary.

The Wellesley is also used by Great Yarmouth Athletics Club and the wider community, including last year's Football Against Dementia match which saw former players from Norwich City compete against NHS workers.

In the past the ground has also been used as the venue for celebrity summer sporting appearances, such as a cricket match starring national comedy legends Morecambe and Wise.

The funding will see the construction of a floodlit 9v9 3G artificial grass football pitch and renovation works to the Grade II listed tennis pavilion building, bringing it back into use by providing changing and meeting facilities to support the new pitch.

The works are expected to begin in September and are anticipated to be finished by the beginning of 2023.

Emma Flaxman-Taylor, chair of the borough council's housing and neighbourhood committee, said: "This is another fantastic milestone in our plan to improve the leisure and sports facilities at the Wellesley for our residents, community groups and visitors."

Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: "This grant award to Wellesley Recreation Ground towards developing a new 3G pitch and renovations to the changing pavilion is great news for the local community.

"It will support people’s ability to play our national game locally and therefore help unlock football’s many benefits to physical and mental wellbeing. That’s why we’re committed to transforming the face of grassroots football facilities in this country.

"The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA, government and Sport England – to support facility development projects like this across the country over the next decade to transform our grassroots game and unlock the power of pitches."