A COMMUNITY has rallied round to raise more than £3,000 for its village school.

Friends of Hindlip CE First School - a group of parents and village volunteers - were faced with the formidable task of amassing £2,500 to refurbish their adventure playground.

However, help from pupils, parents, local pubs and donations from city businesses meant a fund-raising fte became one of the most successful in the school's history.

"The event raised around £3,300 in all," said Colin Chance, who helped organise the event for the Fernhill Heath school, which his daughter attends. "We made sure that raffle tickets had been sold and all the work had really been done before the fte, so the day itself was just great fun for everyone involved."

Raffle tickets were sold through nearby pubs - with The Halfway House raising £400 and The Mug House, Claines, around £140 - as well as by parents and the pupils themselves.

There was a high incentive to enter the draw as prizes included a diamond - donated by Tom Poolton Jewellery by Design - £1,000 of holiday vouchers, a day out at Worcester Rugby Club and meals at restaurants across the county.

The school's pupils were also treated to a day to remember.

"Originally, the pupil who sold most raffle tickets was going to get a free trip to the cinema, but they did so well Warner Villages Cinema let all 100 or so see a movie for free," said Mr Chance, manager of Sainsbury's, in the Lychgate Centre, Worcester.

Another lucky raffle winner won a three-minute trolley dash in Sainsbury's High Street store, during which he swept away £500 of goods.

The Friends of Hindlip School is now comparing a number of estimates for the job, which should start during the summer.

The remaining money - around £800 - will be used to help fund school trips, projects and new equipment in the next academic year.