A WEST Devon community is celebrating a big boost, thanks to grant funding and some hard fundraising.

Gulworthy Parish Hall can now boast a brand spanking new kitchen, which is set to make life much easier for users of the building.

The desperately-needed new kitchen has been installed thanks to a grant provided by Devon County Council through the sale of Exeter Airport, a large donation from Gulworthy WI and donations from various local charities.

Chairman of the management committee Jim Chalcraft said: 'I've been here for seven years and it was in a dilapidated state when I came.

'Only half the cooker worked, the fridge wasn't in a good state and there was only one sink, which made washing up after providing Christmas dinners for around 90 people quite hard.

'The kitchen must have been around 20 to 25 years old.'

The kitchen now boasts a professional cooker, a professional fridge and the latest health and safety regulation stainless steel surfaces for cutting on, as well as instant hot water, a heater for tea and coffee, new extractor systems, new electrics and new tiles to replace the old lino on the kitchen floor.

The new £8,000 kitchen was officially opened by former Devon County councillor Roy Connolly, who helped to secure the grant, at a celebration coffee morning at the beginning of the month.

Funding is now being sought after to repair the hall's roof, which is leaking.

West Devon Borough Council has provided a grant of £10,000 but Mr Chalcroft said a total of £30,000 was needed to carry out the project, so he has been busy applying for various grants.

He said: 'Once the roof is fixed, the hall will be a lot more insulated. Once the roof is done, we will try to sort out the heating.

'There are infrared heaters at the moment which don't heat the room, they just heat the body mass, so we want to look at having mains gas put in.'