AFTER years of hard work and tireless fundraising a Vale village is celebrating being able to repair and save their church from ruin.

St Peter’s Church in Hinton-on-the-Green, near Evesham, has been in urgent need of repair for years and in 2012 villages began a campaign to try and raise the £108,000 needed to pay for the work.

Now in a recent round of donations the church has been awarded £98,100 grant from the government's Listed Place of Worship Roof Repair Fund grant scheme for a major project to make the roof watertight.

Work will now get underway and will include a complete replacement of the tower roof, some re-tiling and renovation to the nave roof, work on all the lead work, and new guttering and soakaways.

The church, which is on the Worcestershire Listed Buildings At Risk Register, has already suffered damage due to its leaking roof so campaigners have said this work is crucial.

The success of the grant was perhaps due in part to the Parochial Church Council, which was reformed in 2012 to raise the money.

Nick Frost, vice chairman of the council, said they have been able to demonstrate the community support shown for the building and this project.

"For that we thank all the Hinton on the Green community for their support in attending services, afternoon teas, village events such as Harvesteen and the fêtes and their love the building and support the restoration of this historic Grade 2 listed building," he said.

"The grant should be just enough to pay for all that roof work, when supplemented by the thousands which have been so kindly and generously donated and raised by parishioners, and others."

Despite the generous donation the fundraising will continue to restore the inside of the church, which has also been damaged by the rain water coming through the roof.

Mr Frost added: "But the fundraising work carries on as the interior is still in need of a lot more work.

"Only then will we be able to proudly admire our fully restored church, and our only public community building, that will last for future generations."