Residents still turn out in force to support the popular event after wet weather forces it into the village hall

Heavy rain forced the bank holiday fete at Hawkchurch indoors yesterday (Monday).

But it didn’t dampen any enthusiasm for the popular event which saw the village hall packed with visitors.

Amongst the highlights of the afternoon was the first time appearance at Hawkchurch of the Xtreme Falconry team whose display thrilled the audience.

A spokeswoman for the fete organisers said they were very pleased with how it had all gone and although takings would be down because of the move indoors they all had a lot o fun and still expected to do reasonably well.

The fete was the climax of a week of fun activities in the village.

Events included a car treasure hunt, village barbecue,

beetle drive, short tennis, bingo, a whist drive, fun family rounders match and the teddy bears picnic and parachute jump at the church.

Saturday also saw a number of local bellringers abseiling down the church tower.

Four senior citizens and a 14-year-old youngster safely completed the descent, despite the wind, rain and even thunder.

The plucky campanologists raised around �2,500 towards the �40,000 worth of repairs needed to keep the bells ringing at St John the Baptist church.

Taking part were former Colyton Grammar School teacher and churchwarden Jean Ransford, aged 68, along with Mary Atkinson (64), Tony Widlow (64), Peter Melville (69) and Christopher Loveridge (14).

Added the spokeswoman: “The whole week of activities was really well enjoyed and the committee outdid themselves with the number of man hours they put in to organise it all.”