More than 400 people came along to view the gleaming new £700,000 community hub which is the first in the village to have been built with bricks and mortar.

The open day held on Saturday, November 8 saw residents come and take a peak at the new hall which is a world away from the leaking, rat-infested wooden shack they previously had use of.

Longthorpe Community Association chairman Michael Taylor said: "It has been amazing the interest from the community. They have watched the hall being built from nothing since January and we have had people asking us when it is opening for months.

"I think it is gratifying after all this effort and planning to see people's pleasure and appreciation for everyone's efforts. It's a fantastic building and it really completes the community and gives us something to be proud of.

"At last Longthorpe has a venue we can be proud of."

The usual groups including Scouts and Guides, the Women's Institute, a preschool group, bowls, cricket and tennis clubs and mums and toddlers have already booked and the committee are delighted at the numbers who came along to se the new state-of-the-art facilities.

Longthorpe Village Hall is behind the village post office and boasts a main hall which can be divided by an acoustic partition, and a main stage to host productions and a separate committee room for meetings.

There are now toilets and a fully fitted kitchen, as well as a landscaped garden for the children to enjoy.

The committee have been overwhelmed with the interest in the new facility with bookings up by 400 per cent for events including weddings and birthdays.

Mr Taylor said: "Our first event went extremely well, in fact we had to turn people away. We had 150 people for the quiz night hosted by BBC2's Eggheads panel member Connagh- Joseph "CJ" de Mooi.

The official opening day will take place on April 3, 2009.

For more information about the hall, call 01733 265739