MYSTERY surrounds two donations totalling £25,000 made to a North Lincolnshire church.

Worshippers at Winterton All Saints Church need money to carry out upgrades which are vital to the future of the Medieval Grade One listed building.

The secret donations mean plans to open the church up to the community by using it as a library, meeting space and more are much closer.

And because the church is classed as a charity, the generous gifts will be increased to £30,000 through Gift Aid, a Government scheme which allows tax to be reclaimed by charities.

Robin Shawyer, chairman of the All Saints Forward Core Group, is charged with the redevelopment of the church.

"It's not often a church gets given large sums of money, but that's exactly what has happened to us," he said.

"Within the space of a few weeks, two anonymous benefactors have given a total of £25,000.

"The donations come as a massive boost to the All Saints Forward Core Group, which has been meeting for more than a year, preparing plans to ensure the future of the church."

The group chaired by Mr Shawyer is aiming to revolutionise the accessibility of the 13th Century building to the benefit of the community – whether they are religious or not.

Plans and diagrams of the revamp have been drawn up and are on display in the church for all to see.

Improvements could include work to the toilets, kitchens and more to make it suitable for events like dinners, organ lessons for children and housing the town library.

Thanks to the gifts, the committee is well on the way to making the plans a reality.

YOUNG scholars from Saudi Arabia have given North Lincolnshire pupils a fascinating insight into Middle Eastern culture.

Twelve students from King Saud International school in Riyadh paid a special visit to Winterton Comprehensive to experience life in a British secondary school.

The group were accompanied by teacher Liz Bainbridge, head of senior high at King Saud, who used to live in Burton-Upon-Stather.

"The pupils have not experienced anything like this before," said Liz.

"Although we follow the British curriculum, students do not learn music, technology or art, so they experienced subjects they have never been taught before.

"The trip was excellent and all the pupils have really enjoyed it."

The visiting students come from a variety of countries across the globe, including Syria, Lebanon and eastern Africa.

Reem Talal, 17, was enthralled by the school's cheerleading lesson.

"I have enjoyed the visit and the pupils at Winterton are very talented," she said.

"Everyone has been very friendly and it has been fun.

"The cheerleading lesson was great – it was very different to the lessons we do.

"The weather was a bit of a shock to us – it is 30 degrees in Saudi, so we are not used to the cold."

After taking part in a variety of lessons, the students enjoyed a game of five-a-side football and a cheerleading lesson.

Aya Majzoup, 17, said there were many differences between the two schools.

"Winterton school is very nice and it is great to see the difference between our schools.

"We have never done some of the subjects before like technology and cooking, art or IT so it is really exciting.

"All of the classrooms are brightly decorated and it makes a lovely learning environment."

WORK with prolific offenders has been credited with helping drive crime down even further in North Lincolnshire.

Latest quarterly ward crime statistics reveal crime reductions across the board for the third period in a row.

One of the most significant cuts came in vehicle crime, which plummeted by 46 per cent between December and March this year compared with the same period in 2009.

In addition, robbery was cut by 31 per cent, violent crimes by 18 per cent, burglaries by 19 per cent and anti-social behaviour by 12 per cent.

Det Chief Insp David Houchin, one of the area's most senior officers, said:

"These figures show that, if we all work hard together and refuse to accept crime as an inevitable part of life, we can make a real difference.

"Police and partners working closely with the most prolific offenders is starting to pay dividends."