A NEW community hub that villagers raised £400,000 to build is now fully accessible - thanks to a beer company’s help.

Villagers in the Moors village of Goathland - made famous by the Heartbeat television series - pulled together over four years of fundraising and 18-months of construction to create ‘The Hut’.

The building will act as a community hub for villagers that will offer range of facilities including a public library, bar and cricket pavilion.

With construction work for the facility itself being completed in September, the final piece of the jigsaw was to build a new road to link up The Hut with the surrounding area.

And that is where beer brand Carling stepped in to support the project under its ‘Carling Made Local’ initiative which encourages people to get together and create stronger communities in their local area.

Thanks to the scheme’s support, the link road is now complete, much to the delight of Goathland Community Hub Chairman, Keith Thompson who had dreamed of creating a village hub in Goathland for the last 25-years.

He said: “ “I’m delighted The Hut is now finished, the people of Goathland will reap the benefits for many years to come - relaxing in the library, enjoying a drink in the public bar, or just socialising with friends.

“One of the things that needed urgent attention was the road.

“It’s alright building somewhere, but you’ve got to be able to get to it and get from it.

“It’s great to see the local community connecting with The Hut and nice to see Carling bringing people and communities together”.

Mr Thompson has been instrumental in the creation of the community hub – coming up with the idea more than two-decades-ago after seeing the cricket pavilion become “not fit for purpose” and wanting to create somewhere for the locals to come together.

Miranda Osborne, Carling brand director said: “The Hut is a focal point for the people of Goathland and we were inspired by Keith’s story and the battle that he has been through over the past 25-years to build a facility that the local area can be proud of.

“It’s fantastic to see the local community coming together and enjoying the benefits of their new facilities.”

Carling’s support comes as part of the wider ‘Putting the Great Back into Great British Pubs and Clubs’ campaign launched by Molson Coors to provide practical, first-hand support to pubs and clubs across the UK.