A BRIDPORT church has received a substantial donation to go towards much-needed roof repairs.

St Mary’s Church, South Street, is the recipient of £15,000 courtesy of the charity Friends of St Mary’s, which will go towards the £115,000 cost of repairing the roof over the north aisle.

Chairman of Friends of St Mary's John Russell presented the cheque to churchwardens Steve Bartlett and John Cooke at the annual meeting of the charity.

Secretary of Friends of St Mary’s Rosemary Russell said: "Over the years we have been very active in supporting the church. I know members of the community and the church have been working hard to raise money through other events which have raised a further £4,000."

The significant sum will boost the roof fund of the grade I listed church which needs fixing after it collapsed over the North Isle last November.

Mrs Russell said: "There is still a significant amount of money to be raised. What they don’t know is when they take the plaster off the roof, what the construction will be like underneath, so we are hoping for the best.

"In the New Year we are hoping to have a quiz evening and we will try to do a few other things to help reach their target."

Churchwarden Mr Cooke gave the Friends an illustrated talk at the annual meeting, detailing the roof damage in graphic detail.

He explained that it has been necessary to close the north aisle due to safety concerns.

Proceeds from a series of jazz concerts, a bell ringers' coffee morning and a bring and buy sale has brought the appeal to £18,500.

The annual meeting ended with a raffle supported by local businesses, wine and a short programme of homespun entertainment ended the evening. This included a Bach sonata for cello and bassoon, Offenbach’s gendarmes’ duet and a piano rag by Scott Joplin.