AN award winning local project aimed at helping soon-to-be and new parents has opened its doors in Selkirk.

Nurture the Borders, which was set up by a group of Borders mums, held a special drop in event to celebrate its opening earlier this month.

Nurture the Borders is a Community Interest Company which runs on a not for profit basis and aims to ensure that all new parents in the region feel fully supported.

The group helps parents to have a positive experience throughout pregnancy, preparing for and feeling ready for birth, and life with their new baby, as well as providing one-to-one support for new mothers.

The new premises at Ettrick Riverside is the latest landmark for the group after a hugely successful12 months which saw it secure funding from Comic Relief, Voluntary Action Fund and Tesco Bags for Life and also scoop the ‘Specialist Maternity Service of the Year’ prize at the prestigious nationwide Mama Awards in May.

The successful funding bids have allowed the group to not only expand their staff team, but also secure their first premises, The Village.

Director Kirsty Wheatley said: "We are thrilled to secure these premises which help us meet the ever growing need for our services and provide a warm and welcoming environment for families from right across the Borders.

"We can now bring many of our services under the one roof for the first time and provide a settled base for our staff and volunteers to work.

"Becoming a parent is hugely exciting but it’s also a time of huge change in our lives and everyone at Nurture the Borders is here to listen and help.

"This can range from providing professional support to something seemingly as simple as one of our volunteers meeting you for a cup of a coffee and listening to how you feel things are going, or tapping into the range of workshops and services we provide for all expectant and new mums with babies up to two years old."

Nurture Borders’s services include the Cherish Project which provides free pre- and post-natal support for women, and its Mum Befriending Programme which provides much needed one-to-one support for new mums.

The Village will also offer Antenatal classes, Birth Trauma Therapy and Birth Pool hire.