View of Youlgrave, Derbyshire [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

LONDON - The countdown started Sunday in a small village in central England as people looked forward to eating cake models of the village buildings.

A model of the entire Youlgrave village in Derbyshire has been created in mouth-watering cakes, a task that has taken villager Lynn Nolan six months to complete.

Some of the cakes will be auctioned to raise money to pay for a new roof for All Saint's Parish Church, one of the focal points in Youlgrave.

Thousands of people have already visited the church to view the cake ahead of the auction.

On Dec 15, crowds will gather at the village to bid in the auction.

Some of the cakes, including the church and the school are to be distributed among the older people of the village as well as the needy. But the rest will be sold to the highest bidders.

When Nolan started to make the cakes, people from around the village offered a helping hand, by donating ingredients, ranging from icing sugar to bottles of whisky to ensure a collection of tasty buildings.

Nolan and a team of helpers clocked up almost 400 hours over the months to create the cakes.

The cake-making task involved making rook tiles, windows and even small bricks, with even look-alike road gravel, every bit edible.

Some parts of the church, officially listed for its historic value, date back to the 12th century.

The church needs to raise more than $300,000 to pay for a new roof. The cake auction will help raise some of the cost.