KEIGHLEY brewery Timothy Taylor's has pledged its support for an arts charity in the town.

The company has offered financial and practical assistance to Keighley Creative.

A £2,000 donation has enabled the charity to upgrade its IT equipment.

And Timothy Taylor's chief executive Tim Dewey is providing mentoring.

His involvement came about after he heard that Business in the Community's Seeing is Believing programme, whose founding patron is King Charles III, was coming to Keighley.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage business leaders to better understand their communities and the challenges faced, and examine ways they could help.

Keighley Creative, which stages a range of art and cultural activities and events in the town, was amongst organisations that hosted the programme.

Mr Dewey says: "I was fortunate to be able to join the Business in the Community Seeing is Believing day in Keighley earlier this year.

"It certainly served its purpose, opening my eyes to some of the great initiatives going on in the town, including the inspiring work at Keighley Creative.

"We wanted to help the town in a direct and practical way, so decided to donate £2,000 to the charity."

Riaz Meer, executive director of Keighley Creative, welcomes the support and thanks the company.

He says: "The generous donation from Timothy Taylor's has made a vital difference to our work as a charity.

"It has proved a step change for us, providing our small team with the IT equipment it needs to improve its efficiency and better serve the artistic and creative needs of the town.

"Our partnership with Timothy Taylor’s is something we value highly, and we enjoyed collaborating with them on a recent flowerpot trail. Having close and positive relationships with local businesses is something we at Keighley Creative welcome and encourage."

Mr Dewey has also offered to mentor Keighley Creative events manager Cat Murray, who is looking to take on personal development opportunities and encourage the relationship between the charity and its funders.

He adds: "As a major employer in Keighley, I felt ‘seeing’ was not enough, and that Timothy Taylor’s should do its bit to assist the charity. Therefore I was delighted to be able to offer some financial and practical support and pleased to hear that the funds we donated were put to such good use."

For further information about Keighley Creative and its activities, email admin@keighleycreative.org or call 01535 957980.