I visited a happy north Shropshire village where everyone looks out for each other

Nestled in the gentle countryside between Whitchurch and Wem, the quaint village of Prees is home to just under 1,000 residents. 

While tiny townlet doesn't boast a pub of its own, there is a thriving social scene at the town's sports club, which doubles up as the village's watering hole. 

There's a village hall too, of course, which regularly hosts local theatre troupes, quizzes, film screenings and the quintessential coffee and cake mornings.

Surprisingly, there's a train station that survived Beeching's axe, with regular trains shuttling residents along the Welsh Marches Line between Shrewsbury and Crewe. 

The local school-slash-nursery, which is the term-time home for around 200 children aged between two and 11, was recently described by Ofsted inspectors as "a happy school where everyone matters". 

And had the Ofsted inspectors ventured into the village, I would imagine they would have said the same for Prees.

"It's such a lovely community," said the manager of Prees Village Stores, Jackie Symons. "Everyone looks out for each other and helps each other. 

"We have everything from people coming in to say 'I've found a five-pound note on the pavement' to people coming in asking if anyone handed in a five-pound note!

"The local primary school is quite active in the community, we're up there supporting with fetes and sports days and they come down here and teach the little ones how to buy stamps and post letters. It's a very good, close community." 

77-year-old Caroline Sewry moved to Prees from London 27 years ago with her two sons, after her husband landed a local job. 

Her two sons - then 16 and 17 - have also made Shropshire their forever homes almost three decades on.

"I'll never live in a town again, never mind a city," Caroline told us. "We don't want to move, we'll go out feet first!

"It's so quiet and peaceful, lots of countryside and farmland - and the people are very friendly." 

Popping into the village's fire station, we were greeted by Tony Talbot, who was providing extra support during a particularly busy period brought on by the prolonged dry period.

Tony, who normally finds himself in Wellington, said he relishes the opportunity to visit the north Shropshire village. 

He said: "I've been coming here for a number of years now to support the local community. 

"Prees is a very nice area to visit, plenty of green land around it and a good little community spirit - everyone pulls together." 

The fire service is currently on the lookout for more on-call firefighters to help support the rural towns and villages around Shropshire. 

On-call firefighters must live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and be over 18, more information is available on the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service website.