IT may be a small village but Halwill has such a big community spirit that it has won the coveted Devon Village of the Year Award.

Halwill was considered to have the edge on its rivals because of the wide range of activities it had to offer and its fundraising efforts especially in the fight to keep Winsford, the former hospital, open as a resource for the community.

The judges came to their decision after assessing a short-list of seven which included Merton. Halwill will now go forward to the Great Britain Village of the Year competition which will be contested between 44 villages.

Rosalyn Kriteman from the Council for the Protection of Rural England, which organised the contest, said the criteria for the award centred upon community life.

'Halwill caters for its whole population and involves all the residents in as many activities as possible,' she said.

'The judges were amazed at the wide variety of activities from the gardening club that encouraged young children to grow their own plants to establishing their own community care centre.'

She said through intensive fundraising, the people of the village had re-opened the former Winsford Hospital as a doctor's surgery with day care facilities and IT facilities.

'We feel the judges have picked a real winner and have high hopes for them in the Great Britain competition,' she said.

Chairman of the parish council John Hawkins said the whole village was 'absolutely delighted' with the news.

'There are many villages around with a lot to offer so it is a thrill to be chosen.' he said.

'There are more than 15 different groups in Halwill catering for toddlers to senior citizens and everyone in between and the enthusiasm of some of these folks is tremendous.'

Halwill has four skittles teams alone involving 61 of the village's population of approximately 615.

The chairman said winning the title was a big bonus for the village which had all pulled together in the fight to save Winsford — a facility bequeathed to the community over 100 years ago.

'When the hospital was closed by the health authority and put on the market there was a lot of interest in converting it into a private dwelling but then it would have been lost to the community,' he added.

'People were very upset about the decision to shut it and there was an awful lot of support for the league of Friends in their battle to keep it going.'

Cheques had come in left, right and centre from local organisations and individuals to boost the fund.

'We hope now we can go on and do even better,' said Mr Hawkins.