A WEST Somerset village school was over the moon to hear it had won a lottery grant for outdoor play equipment and was all set to buy.

But now the process has ground to a halt over issues concerning who owns the land where it will be sited.

Stogumber C of E Primary School was recently awarded £10,000 by the Big Lottery Fund towards new play equipment in its school grounds.

It was part of a £52,000 total that a parent and governor fundraising team managed to secure for Stogumber and Crowcombe Federated C of E Primary Schools – enabling it to buy the ’gold package’ equipment everyone had set their hearts on.

But now the dream pirate ship and climbing equipment that was due to be ordered is on hold, after the Big Lottery Fund sent a form asking the person who owns the land to sign – and no proof of ownership could be found.

“It’s been a bolt of lightning from nowhere,” said Julie Norman, head of the two federated schools.

Full story in tomorrow’s Free Press (May 13)