THE recent fly plague didn't deter Collingbourne Ducis and Everleigh residents from turning out in force for the annual church fete.

All the money raised - a grand total of £1,900 - will go towards modernising St Andrew's Church.

The dog and flower shows proved extremely popular and the search was on in the vegetable section to find the longest cucumber and the heaviest pumpkin, which was grown by Susan Bamber and weighed in at 33 pounds. The overall winner of the flower show was Carolyn Bowens, who was awarded the highest number of points from different categories.

The Bishop of Ramsbury, the Rt Rev Peter Hullah, opened the fete, which was organised by villagers Richard Carter, Julian Price and Tony Still.

"It was a first-class day and luckily the weather held out for us," Tony said.