Trash and treasure donated by friends of St Nicholas at Wade Church raised a record sum towards the building’s upkeep.

A queue of 50 people waited for the church doors to open and the buying to begin at the morning-long sale.

About 150 dealers, bargain hunters and browsers attended, both from the village and further afield in east Kent.

Money from the sales of donated books, toys, bric-a-brac, china and glass, jewellery, furniture, clothes and refreshments and cakes added up to £1,450.

This was £150 more than last year’s record for the annual Trash and Treasure event organised by the Friends of St Nicholas at Wade Church.

The church itself is about 1,000 years old, dating back to Norman times.

Friends chairman Roger Hobcraft was delighted with the result which he said would help offset some £250,000 spent recently on repairs, maintenance and church lighting.

He said: “The event was a very great success this year, we seemed to have more treasures than trash. I don’t know if the success is partly a sign of the times with more people buying second-hand. There did seem to be fewer toys and I wonder if that is because children seem to be more interested in mobile phones and computer games which they all seem to have.”

Some items left over went to charity shops while others were recycled for future fundraisers.

Forthcoming church events include concerts by Thanet Light Orchestra on the evening of Wednesday, April 2, and by the Railway Swing Band on Wednesday, July 9. The annual charity day is on Saturday, October 25.