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SYNOPSIS

The sleepy village of Bambrooke is under attack – from Teesman’s, a rapacious supermarket chain. But the village is fighting back, determined to save its thriving high street from being destroyed by big business.

Everyone has signed a charter agreeing not to sell to Teesman’s. No one has worked harder to save the village than Jim, a 65 year old ex-dairy farmer – but there’s a problem. He’s about to go bankrupt and Boscoe, the local bank manager, senses blood – and a site for the supermarket, (and a large bonus) when Jim is forced to sell his farm.

Jim has a plan – to ‘borrow’ money from Boscoe’s bank over a long weekend, gamble it and get the money back in before anyone notices it has gone. And he’s going to rob the bank during the annual Running of the Burning Barrels, a wild and crazy westcountry event.

To help him he recruits Billy (23), Curly (55) and Sparky (35).

Billy is a poor tenant farmer who has been in love with Nessie, the local landowner’s daughter, forever. He also happens to be the village’s champion barrel runner.

Sparky is the village chancer, who’s in hock to a violent local loan shark. He runs the failing repair garage and goes out with Eve, who works in the bank.

Curly is Jim’s best friend – an impoverished sheep farmer with a secret – he won his farm in a game of cards. But he too is struggling, with a wife (Annie) who has all but given up on him.

Curly doesn’t last long in the gang, dropping out when Jim reveals his plan. Even if it is only ‘borrowing’ the money, Curly promised Annie his criminal days were behind him.

Jim, Sparky and Billy execute the perfect robbery, but what Billy doesn’t discover until it is too late is that he cannot win the big race – the money is hidden in the burning barrels he and Sparky will carry through the town.

Billy is gutted; knowing he’s blown his annual chance to impress Nessie. Disaster strikes when Sparky’s barrel mysteriously explodes into flame on the route, burning all his money. Then Jim fails to recover Billy’s barrel from the river. Suddenly they have lost the lot.

Prison beckons. But then Curly, realising the village and Jim need him, comes to the rescue. But first Billy must overcome his shyness to persuade Nessie to lend them some more money – this time to go to Las Vegas. Curly is a sheep and card counter extraordinaire.

Except they end up in a casino in a Native American settlement (after a dust storm closes Vegas airport), whereupon Curly loses all of Nessie’s money (being a little out of practice).

Finally it is Sparky’s turn to be the (anti) hero. He confesses that the money didn’t burn in his barrel, he nicked it, to pay off the loan shark and he has the other £20K. Curly is thrown a lifeline. This time he makes no mistakes and the team wins enough money for Jim to save his farm from Teesman’s.

They return to the bank with the money only to discover a scene of devastation. The safe has fallen into the cellar. Can the village unite to make good the mess, replace the safe and keep Jim and the team out of jail before Boscoe arrives for work? The clock is ticking.