Rhyl Rugby Football Club is set to save £20,000 a year after installing solar panels on their clubhouse roof.

The Denbighshire club was awarded a £20,473 Energy Saving Grant from Sport Wales last October to help ease the strain of rising energy costs and to contribute to environmental efforts.

The club's monthly energy bills had previously soared from £1,800 to £4,500.

The solar panels are set to save the club £20,000 a year, which will be used to fund improvements around the ground.

These include new posts, a spectator fence, a gardening allotment for students, and a recycling compound.

The club's financial stability also allows it to continue running its community hub.

Club chair Tony Evans said: "With bills rising we were in the position of potentially having to take drastic action to offset the cost.

"We are open seven days a week, running teams from minis all the way to seniors and providing a community hub for everyone in the local area.

"We host weekly discos for adults with additional needs and disabilities and serve food and drink every evening.

"We aren’t from the most affluent of areas.

"Thankfully the Energy Saving Grant is allowing us to continue to do these things, but now in a more financially sustainable way."

The club has also seen a significant reduction in its carbon footprint since the installation of the solar panels, saving 2,948kg of CO2 emissions, equivalent to planting 178 trees.

Club steward Lee Blackmore said: "I’d encourage any clubs out there to apply for grants and funding.

"It’s massively reduced not only our monthly outgoings but also our carbon footprint.

"If it wasn’t for the Energy Saving Grant, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do."

In the autumn, Sport Wales will announce the clubs who have been successful with their applications for this year’s Energy Saving Grants, with £1.5m ready to be allocated.

While this round of the Energy Saving Grant is closed, there are still other funding supports available through Sport Wales.

Brian Davies, the CEO of Sport Wales, said: "Rhyl RFC’s story is a perfect example of why we wanted to offer grants which enable clubs to invest in energy efficiency measures as they are not only positive for the environment but also help to set clubs up to be more financially sustainable.

"Ultimately, this allows them to remain central to people’s lives so they can feel connected and lead an active and healthy lifestyle."