A VILLAGE hall's second-hand kitchen has been refurbished after a council funded more than half of the cost.

The village hall in Tholthorpe, near Easingwold in North Yorkshire, was given £4121 towards a £7,000 plan to bring its kitchen up to standard.

The outdated kitchen, which was installed when the hall was extended more than 20 years ago, has been upgraded with new lighting, heating, blinds and windows.

The hall's wooden floor has also been re-polished and decorating has been completed throughout the site.

Ros King, chair of the Village Hall Committee, said: “The kitchen was second hand when we installed it 20 years ago and with creaking doors and outdated appliances was in desperate need of a refresh.

“With better facilities we can attract more rentals – and we have seen that already with our bookings. We have a very active committee which fund raises to keep the hall in good shape – and we are grateful for the continued help from the district council which enabled us to replace the kitchen.”

The funding came from Hambleton District Council with the remainder of the bill coming from funds raised by the village hall. Councillor Bridget Fortune said: "It is always good to see that our small grants can make a real difference to communities across Hambleton."

"This project is typical of that – the committee had the match funding to be able to install the new kitchen and it is already proving popular with users.”