WHAT a difference 24 hours makes.

Prime Minister David Cameron was on hand to open the new Freeland Village Hall after a two-year, £500,000 campaign yesterday afternoon.

It came hours after Witney’s Tory MP was on the streets of Tripoli, in Libya, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy giving support to rebel forces battling to oust Colonel Gaddafi.

And Mr Cameron told Freeland villagers: “It is lovely to have a warm reception instead of people shouting Allahu Akbah and firing AK-47’s into the air.”

Two years ago, villagers in Freeland decided to rebuild their 46-year-old hall which was cold, drafty and had a leaking roof.

And now the new community building in the heart of the village can host anything from a toddler group to a wedding.

Nicola Hills, who used to run the mother and toddler group from the old hall, said: “The new hall will be a focal point for the village. It will make a huge difference to have a lovely environment for the toddlers to play and be creative in.”

Parish council vice-chairman Peter Newell said: “All proposals for refurbishment of the old building were turned down by the villagers.

“There was a real feeling they wanted a new hall.”

Witney-based architect Ray Tollady designed the new hall and a working group of villagers set up a fundraising campaign.

The group received a £100,000 grant from West Oxfordshire District Council, £50,000 from national grant body Waste Recycling Environmental, £9,100 came from the Freeland Open Gardens event, and there were a range of smaller donations.

The remainder of the £500,000 came from a Government loan after applications for Lotto and Sport England funding were rejected.

Mr Cameron said: “In many cases the village hall is the life and soul of the community. To see the whole community come together to raise the funding to see a new one go up is a really great thing.

“It is an honour as a local MP to come and cut the ribbon.”

He added: “My idea for the Big Society came from the strong communities of West Oxfordshire.”

Now the villagers want to start fundraising towards the £200,000 cost of developing a second phase of the building which will include changing facilities for sports teams and a function room.

Robert Crocker, who is in charge of fundraising, said: “It would be such a shame to see the sports teams go elsewhere.

“We have always done exceptionally well at county level and need the momentum to get these teams facilities that will last for decades to come.”