A TRADITIONAL village event benefited from a generous donation of £500.

Appleton Thorn residents celebrated Bawming the Thorn last month and a combined donation from Barratt and David Wilson Homes helped to cover the costs of part of the day.

The day’s celebrations began at the village hall.

From here, the parade left to perform a circuit of the village before arriving at the Thorn.

At the tree, Appleton Thorn Primary School children performed a traditional dance around the tree whilst singing the Bawming song before decorating the tree itself with flowers and ribbons.

The fete was then held in the village hall - which the donation went towards.

Sue Plass, event organiser of the Bawming Committee, said: “Without all of our sponsors, this event could not have gone ahead, so a big thank you from all of us involved in organising the Bawming the Thorn for the support we have received.”

Not only does the Bawming the Thorn event offer the local community something special to celebrate, but it also forms one of the main sources of fundraising for local village projects that aid the community.

The housebuilders had previously supported the event in 2020 but due to the pandemic, it did not go ahead.

Neil Goodwin, managing director of Barratt Homes Manchester, said: “After the event was unfortunately cancelled in 2020, we were once again excited to support the Bawming the Thorn this year.

Robert Holbrook, managing director of David Wilson Homes North West, said: “It is a fantastic event for the entire Appleton community and we are delighted to be able to continue our support of the local area.”