Teddies in homemade parachutes were dropped from the top of a Church in Earls Colne last week.

The charity gift weekend, which was ran by volunteers of the church, was designed to encourage members of the community to find out more about the work the church does.

A harvest festival was held in the morning followed by the parachuting were children paid a pound for their teddies to be launched and see whose could fly the furthest.

Nearly £100 was raised by the children towards the cost of church maintenance.

Church Council member, Caroline Smith said: “Inevitably some got stuck on the church roof and had to be rescued, one even got caught on the church clock and we had to wait for the clock hand to reach six before it fell off.

“The kids loved seeing their teddies fly, and they raced around trying to catch them.

“It’s all great fun and an easy way to raise a bit of money whilst boosting the profile of the church.”