CELEBRATIONS were held in an Exmoor village on Sunday (June 14) for the 25th anniversary of what is believed to be the Westcountry’s only Millennium Green still in community ownership.

Nearly 100 people joined activities in Brompton Regis to mark a quarter of a century since local residents came together to raise money to buy their village green.

Drinks and cakes were served as people gathered to enjoy the event, while their children played a range of games on the green next to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Photograph albums and boards told the story of the Millennium and how that event helped villagers to raise £55,000 to buy the then-wasteland from developers who owned the site but had not built on it.

A charity which was formed to buy the land continues to maintain the green to this day, and at least two of the original trustees were there on Sunday to witness the success of the green.

As in 2001, when the green opened, the oldest and youngest members of the village - now Alan Wilson and Rupert Headley - posed for photographs at the stone memorial marking the opening of the green.

The party followed a procession from the River Pulham to the green to celebrate the life of Gytha Thorkelsdottir, mother of King Harold, who was killed at the Battle of Hastings.

She had lived in Brompton Regis.

The procession was accompanied by traditional music and dancing.

Charles Stewart-Smith, chairman of the charity which owns the green, said: “The fact that we managed to buy and still maintain such a beautiful space at the heart of our village shows the power of a community working together to deliver some happiness for all, a spirit that is common throughout the communities of Exmoor.”