KINGTON Langley Croquet Club are in a race against time to raise £40,000 which will be used to expand their playing fields.

Currently the club play on only one-and-a-half lawns, but plans are now in place to expand this to two full-size lawns, with work set to begin in September.

“We’ve thought about doing it for maybe three or four years and it’s only in the last couple of years it has been a definite plan,” said Ian Wills, vice-chairman of the Kington Langley Croquet Club.

“Some of the leagues, they play on half-lawns but with two of the leagues they must be played on full-lawns.

“It gets really confusing when it’s necessary to have three games at once and you have to have different coloured sets of balls.

“We’re going to have to dig up our existing lawns, we’re going to turn it around and make it fit better. It’s fairly specialised.

“We’ve booked the contractors to come in September so it will be done at the end of the season and it weathers in until the start of next year.

“We’ve got about £15,000 and we’re going for grants from the area board and other places but it’s going to be a struggle to raise the money in time.”

The club was formed in 1983 and currently has 35 members, some of whom come from outside the village.

A barn dance was held on May 20 which was attended by 85 people and raised almost £1,000, while other events are planned for later in the year to help raise more money.

This includes an afternoon of croquet and Pimm’s from 2pm this Sunday (June 4), while two BBQs will be held later in the year.

“The nearest croquet club apart from here is in Bath and Dauntsey,” added Mr Wills.

“But hopefully with his expansion we can get more people in and that will hopefully encourage more players to come along and have a go.”

Anyone interested in helping to raising money for the new lawns can email kingtonlangleycroquetclub@gmail.com.