Christmas has come early for scores of children after church leaders secured £50,000 towards a renovation project to improve village life.

Community groups which use Cullingworth Methodist Church have been calling for extra facilities as organisations such as the village Sunday school have expanded.

The building, in Dell Fold, is no longer fit for the purpose it was built for and some of the Sunday school's 23 youngsters have to take lessons in the hall's reception area.

A planning application for a single-storey extension was approved by Bradford Council four months ago and church leaders say they hope to start work on it by the end of next summer.

The designs - submitted after more than two years of planning - include a new kitchen, a larger hall and storage area.

The £50,000, from Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN), will go some way towards the £285,000 it will cost to realise the villagers' dream.

Church property steward Rod Crabtree said: "Everyone thinks it is incredible - it is such good timing with Christmas coming. I was walking on air when I opened the letter telling us that we had got it."

Work to build the extension will be put out to tender in January, Mr Crabtree said.

He said the architects were also looking at using eco-friendly materials and renewable energy sources to power the building, which could also house the village's police community contact point.

Mr Crabtree said the aim was to build a centre for the community as well as the Sunday school, to attract outside bodies to use it for community events and to open it up for parties. Cullingworth Parish Council has also backed the scheme.

Mr Crabtree said: "The village is crying out for extra facilities. When we hold any events there, we are struggling to accommodate people.

"We have got planning permission and we are putting it out to tender in the New Year. It is a lengthy process and it has to be done right, so we are hoping to build sometime in late summer 2008.

"There is still a lot of work to do but the WREN grant is a big part of the jigsaw. We still require additional funding, but this will enable us to go forward because it means we can apply for other grants."

The Airedale Male Voice Choir will be paying a visit to the hall for a fundraiser for the extension in the near future and other money-making schemes are also in the pipeline.

Mr Crabtree said: "It is just a matter of one final push now."