VILLAGERS who were due to be battling - quite literally - this weekend for better school facilities for their youngsters have had their plans ruined by the rain.

Residents of Kingston Bagpuize and Southmoor had been due to stage a mock battle with Roundheads and Cavaliers squaring up to each other.

But the event planned at Newbridge Farm, off the A415 between Standlake and Kingston Bagpuize, as a fundraiser for new pre-school premises for the nearby villages has been hit by floodwater.

The battle, which was to have been staged by members of the Sealed Knot Society, would have recreated the events of 1644 when Newbridge was the front line between Parliamentarians and Royalists fighting for control of the strategic Thames crossing.

Organisers had been hoping to raise about £25,000 from the two-day event.