A VOLUNTEER group was able to gift bags full of cakes and other baked treats to its whole village for Easter after it received so many donations.

Ariane Bladon, with the help of Barbara Evans, who manages the volunteer group, organised the Easter treat giveaway in Cattistock.

Cattistock Volunteer Group formed during the first lockdown to help people around the village - particularly those who might be more vulnerable and shielding.

Mrs Bladon asked people in the community to do some baking which children in the village could deliver with a personalised Easter card to the village's most vulnerable residents.

However, the group received so many donations of baked goods from the community that they decided they could hand the treats out to every single house in Cattistock and the surrounding hamlet of Sandhills.

Mrs Bladon said: "We had so many things, from rocky road to mini quiches to sausage rolls. It was enough to feed every household in the village.

"Then we got the children in the village involved to write Happy Easter messages to every house.

"It's been wonderful and most of it has been organised online. The children were really creative and put very thoughtful messages in their cards. It really put a smile on people's faces."

The volunteers took all the donated bakes to the Fox and Hounds Inn in Cattistock in the morning and put a selection of treats in little bags and organised for children in the village to deliver them.

The village's volunteer group has around 45 members and children in the village helped to deliver baked treats and a card to over 200 houses on Easter Monday.

Mrs Bladon said: "Some people were just so happy to to have a chat with a child on their doorstep and to receive a really thoughtful card - you could just see it on their faces."

Children taking part in delivering the treats and cards were aged between two and 14.

Funding from the Cattistock Community Fund was given to Cattistock Volunteer Group to pay for the Easter cards and bags.