Sherston's first community apple day was almost scuppered by a lack of fruit shortly before it was due to take place.

But the relieved organisers were rescued when two local families invited them into their spacious back gardens and said: “Pick as many as you like.”

The result saw the appearance of a tangy, pure and fresh new drink – Sherston School Juice – pressed from the collected apples.

Fi Picton, of the Friends of Sherston School, which organised the apple day, said: “We had a bit of a panic. There were fewer apples around than we had expected.

“You need quite a few to make apple juice and we didn’t have enough. Luckily, a couple of families let us pick them from their trees.

“There are some really nice little orchards hidden away in Sherston which you wouldn’t know existed. The owners really helped us out. They came to our rescue.”

The community apple day took place after school on Friday when around 100 children watched experts at Marlborough company Savernake Apple Juice turn the fruit into juice with the aid of both an electrical pressing machine and a traditional hand press.

Mrs Picton said: “Some of the children were a little reluctant to try it at first because they weren’t keen on the apple juice bought from shops. But this was fresh juice made without any additives and they really liked it.”

Dozens of bottles of Sherston School Juice were sold to parents, enabling the friends group – which raises cash for school equipment – to come away with around £100.