THERE are just a few days left to support a rather unusual grant application by the Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum.

The Westonzoyalnd Engine Trust has applied for a grant from the Aviva Community Fund Awards towards finishing the new toilets in the museum extension - a campaign are referring to as 'The Bogs Appeal'.

Run by the Westonzoyland Engine Trust (WZLET) the museum houses the award winning steam powered 1861 Easton Amos & Sons Land Drainage Machine, which has the oldest John George Appold centrifugal pump still in its original location.

This machinery and its capabilities is one of the main reasons the Somerset Levels looks the way it does today and it had a huge social and economical impact on the area.

The attendant’s cottage houses some social history exhibits and many people are intrigued by our ‘Leaning Loo’ which rests on an adjacent brick wall and featured in the Daily Mail and The Times in March 2013.

A spokesman for WZLET said: "In recent years our wonderful team of volunteers has utilised their building skills to extend the museum at minimal cost.

"This extension houses a tea room, retail area and crew room. It also has space for two public toilets and a toilet/shower room for the volunteers as, unfortunately, our charming, and leaning, brick outhouse is the only toilet on site and is unsuitable for disabled use.

"We also have no baby changing area either at present and we feel that lovely as our existing loo is, it does need supplementing with more modern facilities. Don’t worry, we won’t be knocking the old one down because as well as 'listing' it's also 'listed' (Grade II*) and will remain as it is for visitors to go through 'the brick outhouse experience’ for themselves if they wish to."

The museum was forced to use money previously set aside to finish the extension on essential work to replace a boiler on the Easton and Amos Land Drainage Machine.

"We now have to raise just under £7,000 to enable us to install a 2,000 gallon cesspit, connect it to the extended building and fit everything out. This figure is lower than might be expected as we have been offered a very good price on the tank by a local supplier and we anticipate using some volunteer labour in the project.

The WZLET spokeman added: "There is a wonderful community spirit among our fantastic team of volunteers and it would mean so much to them to receive a grant from the Aviva Community Funds supporting the small part of Somerset's industrial heritage that they love so much."

Go to community-fund.aviva.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-2607 to vote for the project before the deadline on Friday, November 18.