MORE than 500 vinyl records donated by Sherston’s residents went under the hammer last week to raise money for local schools.

Residents raided their lofts in the run-up to the POP Up Sherston festival when it returned to the village this year.

The festival sees than 40 temporary stalls and shops set up around Sherston to create a pop-up village for the weekend.

One stall named Groovy Gramps’ Vinyl Record Store put out an appeal for vinyl donations.

After the festival 500 of the records that had been donate remained unsold.

Rather than let them gather dust, Graham Hayman, who organised the Groovy Gramps stall, put them up for auction at Wessex Auctions in Chippenham last week.

More than £5,000 was raised during Pop Up Sherston this year and the vinyls raised a further £180 – before auction fees, which are still to be calculated.

This year proceeds went to Sherston Primary School, Busy Hands Pre-School and the Sherston Toddlers group.

The organiser of Pop Up Sherston, Kirsty Strachan, said: “Graham put a note on Facebook and went around the village to get records from people stored in lofts.

“There is a new set of consumers out there now for vinyls, they’re hugely popular again.

“The Groovy Gramps pop-up stall had all these records left over so Graham and his wife organised them to go to auction.

“The charities will benefit virtually every child in the village and many in the surrounding area too.”