Profits from vintage show to help repair vandalised West Norfolk village church
Profits from an annual vintage show will help repair a local church hit by vandalism, officials have said.
Llamas, a dog show and a variety of vintage vehicles were enjoyed by hundreds at Hilgay Vintage and Country Show, held at Down Hall last weekend.
And a proportion of the £4,000 profits from the event will help repair All Saints Church in Hilgay, which was vandalised about three weeks ago.
Peter Bates, one of the show’s organisers, who is also churchwarden at All Saints, said windows were smashed, diesel was poured on gravestones and a small fire was started on the altar.
“There doesn’t seem to be any reason behind it,” he added.
“Thank god they didn’t smash the stain glass windows – if that had been them then that would have been disastrous.”
The rest of the funds will be used for the upkeep of the church over the year, and some of it will be donated to a muscular dystrophy charity.
“The upkeep of the church costs money, it costs to keep it running,” Mr Bates added.
“We have this fair every year to keep up with the costs of the church.
“We also like to give a donation to one charity a year.”
Around 900 people attended the show, which is now in its 13th year, over the Saturday and Sunday.
“Everything went well and we had lovely weather,” he said.
“It was not too bad a weekend for us.”
All things vintage were celebrated at the show, from tractors and cars to engines and pumps.
“Anything that’s vintage, we had it there,” Mr Bates added.
The weekend also highlighted local businesses – with a number of stalls selling a variety of food and drinks – as well as some local organisations such as Downham Young Farmers.
It was an event for all ages, as there were also funfair attractions and pony rides for youngsters to enjoy.
Now that the show has been going for over a decade, they now have to think of fresh ideas to keep people coming back.
Mr Bates said: “We have done well every year more or less since we have started.
“The biggest problem is we have to find different things for another year.
“People get a bit fed up after going to the same event with the same attractions year after year.
“So we had the llamas and the horses this year – other years we have had different types of horses – and different things for the kids.”
