A SMALL village has raised just under £2,000 for a hospice in Wrexham through an unusual potato growing event.

The people of Llanarmon-Yn-Ial – near the Flintshire-Denbighshire border – came together on Friday, August 9, to raise £1,800 for the Nightingale Hospice in Wrexham.

Around one hundred people attended the event which was hosted by the village’s unique community run pub, The Raven Inn.

Despite the village hosting annual charity events for the past four years, this was the first of its kind to be centred around a potato growing competition.

Known fondly around the community as ‘The Great Spud Fest’, entrants were tasked with growing the largest potato from the two seed potatoes they each received back in April 2019.

Maria Hughes won this year’s village competition, seeing off no less than 76 other challengers with her yield of over 4 kilograms.

Speaking to the Leader about the fun event, Elaine Jones, Manager of the community run village shop, said: “It all started four years ago when two villagers challenged each other to grow carrots for the following year to enter into a show.

“More people started to hear about the challenge and began to join in. None of these people had grown anything before so it was all a new experience.

“Between around 30 people, we raised £208 for the Welsh Air Ambulance, but this year we’ve grown to have 77 entrants who have helped to raise £1,800 for Nightingale Hospice in Wrexham. Who knows what will happen next year!”