AS part of its continuing programme for community fundraising for St Mary's Church in Sampford Spiney, the parochial church council will be holding a flower festival on May 10, 11 and 12.

The theme of the festival, which runs from 10am to 4pm each day at St Mary's Church, is 'New Beginnings' and will feature arrangements from many of the churches within the West Dartmoor Mission Community.

The festival will include a lucky programme raffle and refreshments and will end with a traditional choral evensong at 4pm on May 12, supported by the Mission Community Choir.

Proceeds from the event will go to the church fabric fund which is seeking to raise enough money to pay for repairs to its leaky tower and to replace the condemned electrical and heating system.

One of the curiosities of fundraising for churches is that many grant makers are happy to fund repairs to a Grade 1 Listed building and its fabric but very few will fund 'upgrading' work such as replacing heating and electrical systems.

In this latter respect church communities have to be very much the generators of their own salvation, hence the church's active community fundraising programme which has raised almost £20,000 over the last 12 months.