GRAMT aid offers to restore a unique Smithy in Mawnan Smith have reached £265,000.

The news was given to the annual meeting of the Mawnan Anvil Trust by chairman Rex Sadler.

The figure totals 80 per cent of the target figure needed to fully restore the unique Smithy which has been in a timewarp since it closed many years ago.

The equipment and tools were found just as they were left although covered in cobwebs and dust.

As well as fully restoring the Smith, the funding will also enable two craft workshops to be built at the back of the premises.

Mr Sadler has thanked all members of the Trust for their determined effort over the past year, with special thanks to the company secretary Ian Martin for his "relentless form filling" in applying to some 24 charitable trusts and funding bodies.

It is hoped that the remaining finance for the project will soon be forthcoming through another major funding agency.

The next open evening at the Smithy will be on December 3 from 6.00pm to 9.00pm when blacksmith Tristan Kessell will be giving working demonstrations.

This event will coincide with the switching on of the Christmas lights in Mawnan Smith.