A NEW monthly community market designed to raise money for local projects has enjoyed its first weekend in business.

The Croft village market, organised by the Croft Community Group, welcomed a large number of visitors who enjoyed a variety of stalls featuring local produce.

Among the items on offer were plants, jams and chutneys, eggs, potatoes and a variety of cakes.

The market will be held on the first Saturday of each month, with the money collected from stallholders fees used to create a community pot of month that can support the village school, church and other groups when needed.

Kerry Wilford, chairman of the Croft Community Group, said: “The event was really well attended, we were so pleased with the turnout. It exceeded our expectations – the local community really supported what we are trying to do.

“We’ve tried to make sure that the stallholders come from within a 30 mile radius, we had stalls from Neasham and Dalton, to keep it as local as possible.”

The next Croft village market will take place on May 4 between 10am and 3pm. For more details visit croftcommunitygroup.co.uk