A NEW brigade of volunteers from Colerne are doing their bit in aid of Christian Aid Week from May 15-21.

Seven years after the last house to house collection finished in Colerne, 20 collectors are back and will cover 70 per cent of village's 1000 homes next Sunday.

The parish church of St John the Baptist is coordinating the collection with volunteers from other churches and organiser Karen Brzezicki cannot wait to get started.

"The theme of this year’s Christian Aid Week is ‘Love thy neighbour’ and it fits perfectly with how we feel," she said.

"Many of us had supported the charity in one way or another and we all felt it was a shame the collection has folded. We contacted Christian Aid afterwards about the possibility of re-starting and were encouraged to approach it in a relaxed and fun way - which suited us."

Up until 2009 collections in Colerne typically raised over £1,000 of vital funds. The Colerne collections stopped after the coordinator stepped down after decades of service, but as of next weekend the iconic red envelope will be put through letterboxes once again.

“The response has been truly heart-warming. We think it is important to be a community that cares about the poor and about justice," said Mrs Brzezicki.

"We want to get out and meet our local neighbours whilst walking side by side with our global neighbour, doing something concrete and tangible for them."

Across Wiltshire there will be sponsored walks, plant sales, teas and special services as well as collections as churches and residents express their love for their global neighbour.

For more information visit http://caweek.org/christian-aid-week/story.html