Villagers have hit a £20,000 jackpot after driving down their carbon footprint by ten per cent.

Families and businesses in North Leigh took up the challenge more than two years ago, using a raft of innovative measures to slash their electricity usage.

Now the village, which has a population of 2,000, is the first community in the UK to achieve a 10 per reduction in energy over three consecutive months – a saving of about £13,000 and the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 50 homes for a year.

Participants are advising communities in three other counties how to achieve similar success.

Geoff Feasey, 79, has made £4,000 of changes to his home off Park Road which he shares with wife Betty, including installing a new boiler, double glazing and loft insulation.

He installed energy-saving lightbulbs, replaced his fridge, and closed doors to contain heat, reducing his electricity consumption by 20 per cent.

Mr Feasey said: “We just made little adjustments. The message we would like to leave is foreveryone to think for themselves how much they could do by adapting the way they live and trying little experiments, because it brings gas and electricity bills down.”

Villagers installed smart meters in their homes, energy-monitoring devices and power-down gadgets. Infra-red surveys highlighted homes’ heat loss.

Eco group Challenge North Leigh spurred on the village with ‘green’ picnics, community fairs, power down days, carnival and environmental film screenings.

Group spokesman Candy Kerpache said “We hope we have encouraged local residents to change their behaviour so they will continue to adopt energy-saving measures that will benefit them financially and the global environment.”

Alison Kennett, 42, and husband Steve, 44, of Common Road, North Leigh, have been encouraged by children Lucy, 11, and Andrew, 10.

Mrs Kennett said: “Nothing has really been left on. We had the meter and the children were rushing to see what effect it made when we turned anything on.

“We had the children coming home from school saying we had to turn the lights and computers off.

“We are very conscientious when we are using electricity.”

Stephen Millward, energy efficiency manager for organisers Southern Electric, said: “We think North Leigh has become the first village in England to achieve a large energy saving like this in such a way, so history has been made.”

Southern Electric has been monitoring North Leigh’s energy consumption since autumn 2007. The data, was analysed by experts at Reading University.

Lois Muddiman, of eco group Low Carbon West Oxford, said: “Congratulations North Leigh on a fantastic achievement.”