A COMMUNITY group has been handed nearly £10,000 to mark the 100th anniversary of a Zeppelin crash-landing in a Colchester village.

The Wigboroughs Community Group has been given £9,800 by the National Lottery, which will allow 'Zepfest' to go ahead in Little Wigborough.

The money was allocated as part of Heritage Lottery Fund’s 'First World War: then and now' programme.

The project will commemorate the forced landing of German Zeppelin L33 in Little Wigborough on September 24, 1916. No lives were lost in the incident.

Residents are also being encouraged to hunt out Zeppelin souvenirs from family attics which will be put on show in Copt Hall, in Copt Hall Lane.

Talks and audio recordings will also be laid on for the public and a First World War aeroplane flypast is planned.

Anne Owen, who will organise the event, said: "We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and hope that all visitors to Zepfest will enjoy a fun day out and learn something too about a key moment in the history of our villages."

Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell added: "This was a momentous local event in The Great War.

"I recall my late father-in-law telling me how, as a teenager, he and friends had cycled from Colchester to see the massive metal skeleton frame of the Zeppelin.

"I congratulate the organisers of this commemorative event for their research and presentation.

"It reflects our social and war-time history from a century ago, and I am confident it is something which will appeal to people of all ages."

The 650ft airship was one of two which had been on a bombing raid in London when it was struck by an anti-aircraft shell.

When it landed, the German captain, Alois Bocker, set fire to the vessel.

Bocker and his crew then set off for Colchester but were arrested when they asked a policeman for directions to the town.

A second vessel also came down in flames in Great Burstead, near Basildon.

In the weeks after the Little Wigborough crash, experts say about 250,000 people visited the wreckage, taking pieces away as souvenirs.

Zepfest is set to take place on Saturday, September 24 between 2pm and 8pm and on Sunday, September 25 between 10am and 4pm.

Schools from the village and nearby Peldon will also play their part in a Zeppelin-themed drawing competition.

Organisers are also planning to launch zepfest.net, which will allow people not from the village to research and add to the information on the incident.