SALWAY Ash School needs to raise more than £50,000 for improvements.

The school asked for a grant from the Salisbury Diocese so it could build a new school hall to replace its woefully small one, said headteacher Lisa Crew.

"Our school hall is less than half the size it should be so we applied to the diocese and they gave us more than we asked for."

The school received a grant of £730,000 - with the proviso that it raises seven per cent of that itself in the next three years.

The school is going to have a new servery, toilets, offices for the head and her secretary, staff room, new entrance, a ICT suite, a bigger library and a spare room for teaching.

Now parent Peter Wyrill is to run a lottery with a Mini Cooper as the top prize to help raise the money.

Mr Wyrill, who is the managing director of Dorchester advertising agency Rawmedia, has two children at the school and some experience of major fundraising for Bridport Rugby Club.

He said: "We intend to sell just 1,000 tickets at £50 each and that should give us a profit of £35,000 in the first year after we've bought the car.

"That leaves us with £16,000 to raise."

Lottery tickets can be obtained from the school or Mr Wyrill on 07899 928464 or 01308 427036.