AN historic church in the centre of a Suffolk town is facing thousands of pounds of repairs after it was damaged during bad weather.

Anthony Bond

AN historic church in the centre of a Suffolk town is facing thousands of pounds of repairs after it was damaged during bad weather.

More than 30ft of flintwork has fallen off a stair turret to the tower of St Mary's Church in Hadleigh during two stages since November 1.

This has resulted in brickwork of the Grade-1 listed building being exposed to wintry conditions.

As a result, the eight bells in the church are unable to be rung on their usual Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

And it is thought that in order to get the church back to its normal condition, it will cost around �25,000 to fix.

The Very Reverend Martin Thrower, 48, said: “People are concerned because there is a real love for the building in its own right but also the love for the building is connected to the spiritual and pastoral work of the church because it is used so regularly and it is a really integral part of the life of the church and town and people. We have had to suspend the ringing of the bells here because we need to ensure that there is safety all around. The building is important because it is used by people on a very regular basis.”

The first section of the flintwork came off during a celebration of All Saints' Day on Sunday November 1. On Saturday, another section fell down during the windy weather.

The Friends of St Mary's is hoping to raise the money which will fix the church back to its original condition.

John Bloomfield, 76, who is chairman of the committee of the Friends of St Mary's, said: “Although it will cost lots to get it right, I have lots of confidence that we will raise the money without much difficulty because lots of people are very fond of the church and in all sorts of ways.”

For more information about the work to fix the church contact jbloomfield39793@aol.com.