A HELPING hand was extended to weary Canal & River Trust volunteers carrying out work along the Kennet & Avon Canal when a local housebuilder supplied them with fresh tools.

Cotswold Homes, who were putting the finishing touches to sites on its Freshford Fields development, has sponsored the cost of much of the new equipment needed by the volunteers to clear vegetation, repair towpath potholes and paint lock gates.

This week the firm’s donation was praised by the trust’s volunteer development coordinator, Steve Manzi.

He said: "Cotswold Homes’ generosity has enabled my team to continue its valuable work. The volunteers make a massive contribution to the Canal & River Trust, undertaking activities we would not otherwise be able to carry out."

The grateful workers were able to plough on with the job at hand after many of their tools were worn out.

This follows on from the volunteers' work in April, when they helped rebuild a stretch of the collapsed Hen's Orchard Wall in Bradford on Avon.