AN extension to Bluntisham Baptist Church was opened by Shailesh Vara, the MP for North West Cambridgeshire on Saturday (February 6). The extension and refurbishment of the Victorian village hall cost �300,000 and took six months. Deacon Malcolm Lee told

AN extension to Bluntisham Baptist Church was opened by Shailesh Vara, the MP for North West Cambridgeshire on Saturday (February 6).

The extension and refurbishment of the Victorian village hall cost �300,000 and took six months.

Deacon Malcolm Lee told The Hunts Post: "We raised the money over three years with events including everything from bike rides and sale to concerts by Yaz (hit song: The Only Way is Up) and Covent Garden opera singer, Amanda Roocroft. "After several years of planning, fundraising and numerous donations from the congregation, the work began in July and was completed in early January."

The building now has a new kitchen, an office, toilets and disabled facilities, a store, and two new meeting rooms. The groups using the new facilities will include a toddler group, a drama group, a keep fit club, a money advice centre, the Brownies and a pensioners' luncheon club. There is also the expansion of the Beacon Caf�, now open on Wednesday afternoons, which the church is hoping to extend to Saturday mornings, selling hot drinks and homemade cakes.

INFORMATION: see www.bluntishambaptist.org