PARISHIONERS from Castle Combe pray their cookbook will rise to the occasion and help them earn enough cash to buy their church a special Christmas present.

The 96-page cookbook compiled by four cooking enthusiasts consists of more than 50 recipes for fetes and festivals, which people living in the village for the past 1,000 years may have known about.

'Lamb fit for a king' is a recipe the group believes villagers may have prepared to celebrate King Alfred's victory over the Danes at nearby Edington, in West Wiltshire, in 878, because it occurred in time for the spring lambs.

Villager Bob Middleton, 58, who helped put the book together, said: "The village is now a centre for tourism and lots of people come here to visit or holiday.

"We thought it would be quite a good thing for tourists to buy and remember the village.

"By and large the recipes are from England, although there are one or two from Scotland."

Engineering consultant Mr Middleton said the group hopes to sell 3,000 of the £6 books and raise £18,000 for the church repairs.

But the cookbook is only one element of a wider effort by villagers to raise £80,000 for repairs to the floor and walls of St Andrew's Church, in Castle Combe.

One of the main fundraising events will be the villagers' traditional lardy cake fair, which will be held in May.