IT'S not quite SW19 but West Devon residents are still celebrating after the official opening of new tennis facilities.

Saturday, September 6 saw the official opening of the Hatherleigh Sportsfield tennis courts after their recent refurbishment by Hatherleigh Town Council's deputy mayor Malcolm Jacobs.

The courts were last resurfaced in the early 1990s and, through recent years, have been in a poor state of repair.

Trish Wonnacott, secretary of Hatherleigh Sportsfield committee, said: 'We decided as a starting point to send a questionnaire to all houses in Hatherleigh to find out if the people of Hatherleigh wanted to see the courts refurbished. It was obvious from the questionnaires that were returned that there was strong support for this, so the committee decided to go ahead with the project and started to fundraise, by having coffee evenings, homemade cake stalls in the market and other fundraising events.

'Many local people also gave us generous donations towards the fundraising. The courts are now looking very smart, and the committee have had many positive comments from the public.

'We would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who donated money towards this project, and we hope the facility will provide many years of pleasure for the people of Hatherleigh and the surrounding villages.'

Grants for the tennis courts were secured by the sportsfield committee from Awards for All, Devon Playing Fields Association and West Devon Borough Council.

Added to this were donations from Hatherleigh Town Council, Hatherleigh Moor Management committee, Peter, Peter and Wright solicitors and the EX20 Lottery.

The Hatherleigh netball teams, who use the courts regularly throughout the summer, held a tournament to help raise funds as well as donating money from their own funds.

The committee managed to raise enough money to rewire as well as resurface the courts. They also spent a day preparing the courts for refurbishment by taking down the old wire, sanding down and repainting the posts, minimising costs as they did so.

The work on the courts was carried out by W J Wicks of Buckfastleigh who put up the new fence; Gordon Fishleigh Plant Hire, who carried out reinforcing concrete work; Glendinning Ltd who resurfaced the courts and Avon Road Markings who sprayed them and marked out the lines.

The official opening took place last Saturday, however, because the committee were loath for the public to miss out on using the brand new facility through the summer holidays, they have been open to the public since completion of the work.

The courts cost £3 per hour to hire for adult and family groups, and £1 per hour for children only groups. If anyone uses the courts for a second or third time in the same week, the cost of hire is then half the price. The key is available from Londis at Bridge Garage in Hatherleigh.