Vale field saved from development thanks to widow's gift

The area of land given to the National Trust near the Vale Primary School's planing field. (Guernsey Press picture by Peter Frankland)

"I’ve had offers for the land but I didn’t want to see it developed," owner Beryl Marsh, 83, told the Guernsey Press. "People get so tied up with money they forget the beauty of the living things around them."

So to prevent the agricultural field from being built on in the future, she has given it to the National Trust of Guernsey in memory of her husband Rex, who died in 2006.

When they were younger they used the field at Les Rocques Barrees Road for growing vegetables and soft fruit, which made them practically self-sufficient and they sold the surplus on their hedge veg stall.

Mrs Marsh wasn't sure whether the Trust would want the field "but they snapped it up. Everyone thought it was a wonderful idea, these little patches of green need looking after, especially in the Vale," she said.

NT president Mike Brown was very grateful for the donation. "We really do appreciate the generosity she has shown in giving us this land. And if it helps her remember her husband we are even more delighted to take this area on."

• The trust is planning to apply to have a gate added from Les Rocques Barrees Road to improve access to the site and add a stone or plaque in Mr Marsh’s memory.