£6,000 has been donated to Ferncumbe C of E Primary School in Hatton by an engineering firm.

Leading infrastructure and engineering company, Avove, was also joined by colleagues from G&V Gallagher to roll up their sleeves and spend a day revitalising the school gardens, which had fallen into disrepair.

Throughout the day, the team weeded the entire garden, trimming hedges and removing ivy from the surrounding fencing to restore the area's beauty ahead of a new school year.

Finally, the team laid wood chippings across the garden, protecting many of the site's apple trees that had been impacted by weeds.

An Avove colleague also built a planter and potting table using recycled wood left from pipe and fittings deliveries made to the Hatton compound.

In addition to this, both Avove and Severn Trent donated £6,000 to the school – money that will be used to replace the roof on its outdoors forestry classroom.

During winter months, the older roof had started to leak, and so pupils presented handmade cards to the volunteers, thanking them for the contribution.

The community initiative follows Avove's installation of a 10km pipeline from water mains near Rising Lane to Hatton Water Treatment Works, a project that will improve the water supply to thousands of Severn Trent customers across Hatton.

advertisement

Initiative organiser and Avove Customer Experience Advisor, Dylan Williams commented: "It has been a brilliant experience, from start to finish, to organise and undertake this community day with the school.

"Knowing how our efforts will help improve students' well-being and experience day to day in school meant that all of us here working on the project could not wait to get hands-on and involved."

James Hood, Avove Project Manager working on the Hatton project, said: "This has been a fantastic opportunity for us to support the local community in Hatton after all their understanding and patience during our essential works over the past year.

"It's a great feeling knowing our support will make a difference within the community."