A COMMUNITY farm has celebrated its five year anniversary with an open day for local residents.

Pennine Lancashire Community Farm held the event at their March Street base.

The open day, which took place on June 25, included visits from Lancashire Fire and Rescue giving information about fire safety, Burnley Council offering general community advice and Burnley Healthy lifestyles team who carried out free health checks.

Home grown produce from the gardens was on offer including tomatoes, oranges, carrots, salad and celery.

And the newly restored football pitch was open for local youngsters to play on.

The farm was set up in 2001 in the aftermath of the riots in Daneshouse with Stoneyholme to promote community cohesion and sustainable living.

Set on three acres of land, the farm has raised beds for people to grow their own food, offers volunteering opportunities and acts as a community meeting place.

James Horsford, manager of the farm, said: “The open day was not just a day of celebration of our achievements during the past five years, but a way to get all the different members of our community to integrate on common ground.

“The event was very successful, we had around 50 people attend, some of which had never been before and said that they wanted to come back.

“We put out some of the produce grown here for people to try.

“It is surprising how many people haven’t tried freshly grown fruit and vegetables before.

“We want people to come down and grow their own food, not only does it save them money but it is a lot healthier and getting involved in the process of planting, growing and then eating the food is enjoyable.”

After the open day the farm held its AGM where they discussed the progress made during the year and plans for the future.