VILLAGERS in Urchfont are celebrating after it was named as one of the best in Wiltshire but it has not been all plain sailing.

The village best known for its pond and scarecrow festival has taken the title of best medium sized community in this year’s CPRE Wiltshire Best Kept Village competition.

But just weeks before judges were set to visit harmful blue and green algae was found in the pond and people were warned to keep their children and pets away from the water.

Works started at the end of June to try to get ride of the algae and a pump and aerator were installed. It will continue to work for about 18 months.

Parish Council chairman Graham Day said: “It was a little bit of a worry but the pond looks fine now and there were plenty of other things that the judges liked.”

The judges who found the village litter free and with beautiful gardens.

A spokesman for the judges said: “Urchfont began to enter the competition two years ago and has quickly raised its standards to win the Medium Village category.

“ The judges’ first impression was of a village well cared for by the community.

“Other comments mentioned the beautifully kept gardens, the lack of litter, common land, the areas around The Lamb Inn and the shop, the village hall, the church, the cricket ground, the allotments and the website.”

Parish Clerk Bob Lunn said: “Well done to all those who contributed time and effort to make the village look at its very best.”

The contest sponsored by The Hills Group is judged in rounds. Mike Manson project officers for the CPRE said: “The first round of the competition saw the expert judging teams from the Wiltshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England and from Wiltshire Council putting each village under the microscope in May and June.

“A total of 39 villages throughout the county were tested against the competition criteria which include tidiness, cleanliness, presentation, conservation and village community spirit.

“As ever the Parish Councils and their volunteers had clearly been hard at work, achieving encouragingly high standards and making the judges’ task that much more difficult.

“In July the winning villages in each district were then judged against each other in the County Round, using fresh judging teams.” Bratton was best large village and Ansty best small village.