Sherston village hall was filled with gifts for gardeners which were being sold in aid of the Old School Project.

Seeds, bulbs and pot plants were on sale along with cakes and gardening-themed Christmas stockings to raise funds for the two-year project to convert the old primary school into retail and business premises. Organiser Irene Johnston said: “It went extremely well. It was well supported by the village and everyone said how fantastic it looked.

“This is the first time we’ve tried something like this.

“We had steady numbers throughout the day and it was amazing how much we sold. We’ll be taking a stall to Market Cross with the remainders in two Sundays’ time. Hopefully the people of Malmesbury will flock out. We won’t have a final total until after then but we’re close to the target so every contribution helps.”

Sherston Old School Project has involved the conversion of the redundant Victorian building into modern business premises.

A combination of grants, donations and special events has contributed to the £1 million cost of the project.