A REDUNDANT church hall is being given a new lease of life as the hub of Callington Football Club.

Saved from demolition when the Roman Catholic Church site in Gunnislake was re-developed, the pre-fabricated building is to become the new clubhouse at the club's ground at Marshfield Parc.

It has been rebuilt and given a new roof thanks to local builder Dean Shipton and it's all hands to the deck to transform the interior in time for a Christmas opening.

Around £10,000 has been raised through local business sponsorship to help with repairs and the remainder of the funding is from the club itself, which has 100 members.

Inside there will be a kitchen, toilets, bar area and main area with tables and chairs.

Club secretary Nick Smith said it would be a terrific facility and make such a difference to the club which currently only has a tea hut.

'This will be a far more sophisticated arrangement,' said Nick. 'We will be able to entertain teams and spectators on site and hold fundraising events here. It will also help us greatly when applying for future funding.'

Nick said the building was dismantled at Gunnislake and stored for some time while planning consent was gained and permission granted by Callington Community College where the football club is situated.

'It has been rebuilt using some of the old materials and some new ones,' he said. 'Now it is up and secure we need to make it habitable.

'We have had many kind donations of free labour and members are down there every weekend working on it.

Callington Football Club has four teams and is also associated with the youth club, Callington Colts, which has 200 members who use its facilities.

'This clubhouse will benefit a good proportion of the youngsters of Callington,' he said.

The club's chairman, Andrew Long, said: 'This is a major step forward for the club.

'Even though we are only 22 years old, we have achieved so much already and, under the expert guidance of the club vice-chairman Steve Woolley and his small band of volunteers, this is going to become a reality.

'The co-operation between the club and the community college, whose land the clubhouse will be on, is an exemplar model of how local organisations can work together.'