THE Gidleigh Park Hotel and Helpful Holidays donned their whites to compete in their annual charity cricket match raising money for Farms for City Children.

The event raises thousands of pounds each year for FFCC, a charity set up by Michael and Clare Morpurgo that offers children from towns and cities a unique chance to live and work together on a real farm.

The nearest Farms for City Children is Nethercott House in Iddesleigh. Many of the children who visit Nethercott live in some of Britain's most deprived urban areas and have experienced great difficulties in their lives. The property is a fully working traditional farm, and children who stay are fully involved in the day to day chores of farm life. Alongside their school teachers and a member of Nethercott House's farming team, children are woken up at 6am to take on any number of jobs, from mucking out stables and looking after farm animals, to tending to the vegetable garden.

As well as the cricket there were Gidleigh Park cream teas, a drinks tent and a jazz band to entertain the spectators. The raffle prizes included a £250 cottage voucher from Helpful Holidays and lunch for two at two Michelin starred Gidleigh Park Hotel.