VILLAGERS are stepping up their fight to halt a sale to the highest bidder of church-owned land, which they want to turn into a public open space.

Dozens of residents packed the village hall at Killinghall, near Harrogate, to protest against the sale - and now more than 500 have signed a petition to be presented to the Ripon and Leeds Diocese.

Locals reacted angrily when the church authorities put the 1.3-acre site on the market, seeking a sealed bid auction.

They had hoped the land would have been bought by Harrogate Borough Council, in liaison with Killinghall Hall Parish Council, so the land could be used as a community facility.

Now, they fear it could be snapped up by a speculator, and they face a race against time to persuade the diocese to think again as a deadline for the sale's closing date is a week today.

The church-owned land, next to St Thomas' Parish Church, is said to be the village's only area specifically earmarked for children.

Killinghall's newly-formed Glebe Action Group is working alongside Harrogate Borough Council representative Michael Harrison and the parish council in a concerted effort to achieve success.

Meanwhile campaigners have been heartened to hear that Ripon and Leeds Diocesan trustees, who are handling the sale, have called a meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.

Action group leader Lucy Whiting said: "There is a real strength of feeling about this issue in the village.

"We have evidence to show that the land was originally purchased by the church using funds raised by local residents over a century ago.

"Local people have used the land over the years, and it would be terrible to think that we would be denied using it."

A diocesan spokesman said they had received several bids from residents interested in returning the land to community use, but said the trustees had a duty, under charitable law, to secure the highest possible price for the land.