Chagford Cancer Research UK raised a whopping £4,000 for the cancer charity at its first full street market since 2019 before the covid pandemic.

This year was the first time the market, which has taken place on the first Saturday of every August for 60 years, was able to run at full capacity since the pandemic struck in 2020 and saw Chagford’s square turn into a riot of colour and activity.

Marion Symes from Chagford Cancer Research UK, said: ‘Considering we haven’t run it for three years it went really well. It was gently buzzing, never packed but that’s better because then people have time to look at things.

‘The main thing is to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along and helped. It really was a community event.’

Despite the covid restrictions and lockdowns that have blighted the past two years, Chagford Cancer Research UK has not been idle.

Ms Symes added that the community group had been inventive during the pandemic in order to keep small events going and raise money for charity, which included holding a reduced market in 2020 and 2021.

She said: ‘It’s a really good group. We have had to adapt with covid and have managed to keep going. We’ve got an inventive team.

‘We kept the street market this year relatively traditional so that people could still recognise it within the newer things.’

In the past the market has made over £5,000 but due to the absence of the popular Nearly New Clothes stall and the cost of living crisis, this year saw a fall in donations.

Ms Symes said the group was still really pleased with the total amount raised since people were willing to donate to the charity despite having less disposable income.

The group will now pass the money over to the charity as soon as possible.

‘There’s no point waiting around,’ added Ms Symes. ‘It’s needed there.’

Cancer Research UK is a charity which funds research into cancer and cancer treatments across the world in order to understand the disease and improve current cancer treatments.

It was founded in 1979 and since then has funded research projects in over 35 countries included Spain, Italy and Israel.

Since the 1970s, cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled. Cancer Research UK estimates that one in two people diagnosed with cancer can now expect to live ten years or more afer their initial diagnosis.

Statistics show that there were 300,000 cancer diagnoses between 2016-2018 in the UK.

For more information visit www.cancerresearchuk.org.uk.