A garden party took place this afternoon to raise money for a local church.

More than 600 people attended Elm Ridge Methodist Church’s annual summer event to raise funds and to enjoy the sun in the grounds at Carmel Road South.

Face painting, a bouncy castle and afternoon tea were just a few of the activities enjoyed by families from the local area, and a selection of stalls sold garden plants, bric-a-brac and secondhand books and toys. All stands were run by groups connected to the church.

Tony Allen, of Carmel Road North, has been involved with the church for 23 years and this is his eighth year as official garden party organiser. Mr Allen and his team of helpers arrived early this morning to prepare for the event which began at 2pm. He said: “It’s up to me to choose a theme. I ask each of the church groups if they'd like to get involved and they always say ‘We’d love to!’”

This year’s theme was ‘favourite films’. The church’s Women’s Fellowship chose ‘Out of Africa’ and ran a bakery stall. Member Hilda Rishworth said: “The turnout has been fantastic. We sold out of cakes in the first half hour!”

The weather was glorious all afternoon and a stall celebrating the film ‘Ice Age’ provided much-needed ice creams to cool off from both the sun and the excitement of the day's events.

The party’s organisers hope to raise around £3,000 for the church and have pledged to donate a sum of the money to the Kumi Community Fund, a charity which provides voluntary physiotherapy care to poverty-stricken rural communities in Uganda, Africa.

Reverend Philip Clarke commented: “This is one of the biggest community events in the West end of Darlington. It’s not only important to raise funds but also to welcome everyone from the area.”

For information on Elm Ridge Methodist Church’s future events visit www.elmridgemethodist.co.uk.