The soft play attraction inside a village church

Many rural English villages are losing their facilities but one in Dorset is positively thriving.

Burton Bradstock, near Bridport, has a school, post office, public toilets, not just one pub but two, and now its church has installed £20,000 of soft play equipment.

The money for the new apparatus was raised by the parish of St Mary's church and match-funded by a local brewery.

"I'm not aware of another soft play in a Grade I listed church," said Reverend Andrew Rawding, rector of the Bride Valley and Chesil group of churches.

He added: "I would say this is the first time that a soft play has been put in a 15th Century church."

After petitioning the villagers to see whether a majority thought it was a good idea, Rawding said he then sought approval from the Diocese of Salisbury, the Church Buildings Council and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

He said: "We wanted, when people come in, for it not to be too visible.

"In the planning permission, we had to get the colour scheme approved... any colours which I considered not to be in keeping with the church I told the manufacturer or contractor, 'you've got to replace it with a more subdued colour'."

However, some residents have voiced concerns over the village's annual music festival, which uses the church as a venue, with some questioning whether the new facility would affect seating space.

One who does approve is 76-year-old Vera, who has strong family ties with St Mary's.

"My mum and dad both got married in this church," she said.

"I got married here, both my children were baptised here. Mum and dad are both buried in the churchyard.

"It's lovely to hear children - happy children, happy childhood."

The benefits will be seen most by a neighbouring school, where Holly Varndell-Paulley is interim head teacher.

She said she was "really surprised" when Rawding told her about the plan, adding: "I wasn't sure whether he'd manage to go ahead with it and he has and it's amazing.

"We can bring our younger children over here on a rainy day and they can have a playtime in there.

"Children who might need a bit more of a movement break, they can come over and use this - it's just an additional space to add to our school."

Children can play on the soft play free of charge but it will only be available at certain times, with parents and carers responsible for children's safety.

"We're pioneering something for village churches up and down the country," said Rawding.

"Children coming into church, not to sit quietly in pews, not to feel uncomfortable so we never see them again, but just to come in and be children and be free to play and be loved and accepted.

"I think it's absolutely wonderful."