More than 500 people turned out for the Scouthead and Austerlands Summer Fete at Dawson's Field on Saturday, August 8, the first event put on by the community group's new committee.

The afternoon was organised entirely by volunteers from the Scouthead and Austerlands Community Group, who had just eight weeks to pull it together.

Families enjoyed a sheep petting zoo, tug of war and sack racing, along with stalls selling everything from plastic swords to tombola tickets, with prizes donated by Saddleworth's small businesses.

"It's been really, really good," said committee member Nicola Harvey. "We're really pleased, especially as it's the new committee's first event as well. We've really gotten stuck in, we only had eight weeks to put this together. It's been challenging, but we're dead happy with it."

The event marked a turnaround for the group, which in June was facing an uncertain future after being left without enough volunteers to run its committee. Nicola and fellow new resident Jackie Ridding stepped forward at the last minute, securing the organisation's future.

"When we met for the committee that first time, nothing had been done for this," Nicola said. "No stalls had been taken we hadn't booked the field, there wasn't a date… so we just pulled it all together. We got on the internet, asked people if they wanted stalls and things. What we've done is, anybody who's providing a service or is a community group come in free. And then everybody else, we asked for a small donation."

"It's been such a steep learning curve, because we've basically done it on our own," Jackie said. "For the next event, we'll be more prepared. But considering we didn't know each other eight weeks ago, we've done really well. We've all had our individual roles, all doing different things, but we've really pulled together."

The group's second-ever Motor Show took place in July, with hundreds of cars, vans, tractors and steam engines on the fields.

Looking ahead, the group is in talks with the neighbouring Three Crowns Inn to arrange a Hallowe'en pumpkin hunt, as well as a range of Christmas events. There are also hopes to host a movie night on the field, with Nicola suggesting a screening of 'Die Hard' at Christmas, with families bringing picnic blankets and watching from a projector.

The team is confident the Summer Fete raised hundreds of pounds, all to be spent on more events going forward. The group has already bought football nets that stay on Dawson's Field 24 hours a day, along with a storage box containing footballs and frisbees left out for children to play with.

The Scouthead and Austerlands Community Group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at The Three Crowns in Scouthead and hosts a range of community events across the year.

Nicola described the wider change in the community: "As a community, nobody wanted to do the flower beds, nobody wanted to join the committee, but we've got people now who take on little odd jobs and keep it going. We had a gentleman in one of the flats who cleared all the road of weeds, all down the pavement, all down the roadsides, it looks absolutely amazing. He's done it every night this week. It really does feel like we've got a community starting. It's all just local people, and some people don't want to commit to things, but we've always got a name when we need somebody. Next year will be better. But how could it be better than this?"