Baildon residents have rallied round to boost a community garden project fund-raising appeal which has now reached its half-way mark of £6,600.

The Hall Cliffe Community Garden project faced losing its £66,000 countryside Agency grant if volunteers failed to raise ten per cent of the offer themselves.

But, following publicity in the Telegraph & Argus, the volunteers have now banked £3,000 - and are confident that the project will be saved, with work starting on the former school playground soon.

One donor gave a £1,000 lifeline donation to the project. Alan Booth, partner in Rance Booth & Smith Chartered Architects, in Saltaire, said the company had been looking for a cause to support.

Mr Booth, who lives in Baildon, said: "We are pleased to support this most worthy local community cause." Help is also coming from British Communities Trust for Volunteers and the People's Places Grant from the New Opportunities Fund's Green Spaces and Sustainable Communities programme. Their funding will supply gardening books, education boards to place in the garden, wildflowers to plant and publicity for the project.

Another offer of help has come from Chris Wright, of Chris Wright Road Planing, Hollins Hill, Baildon to remove the tarmac which covers the playground in Hall Cliffe, Baildon, free of charge.

The project still needs to raise over £3,000 and donations can be sent to the treasurer Richard Freeman, 19 Ashfield Drive, Baildon, Shipley BD17 6JE (cheques made payable to the Hall Cliffe Community Garden Project).