A historic village church that has been closed to the public after being targeted by lead thieves and needing a new roof has received a cash boost. 

St Andrew's Church in Wanborough, which is one of only three churches in the UK with both a tower and a spire, has been closed to the public since November 9 last year after it was targeted by thieves who stripped lead tiles from the roof.

Following this, a fundraising appeal to was launched to help cover the costs of re-roofing the grade I listed church, which has now had £500 donated to it by a housebuilder

The donation was made by Bellway South West, which is building homes at its Redlands Grove development on the edge of the village.

Work is now underway to re-roof the nave with Welsh slate after the church secured a loan from the Diocese of Bristol towards the project. However, the church still needs to raise thousands of pounds to cover the cost of the repairs.

Gaynor Halls, churchwarden at St Andrew’s Church, said: “I had heard about Bellway’s work in the local community so I wrote to their South West division to see if they could help with our roof repairs. I was delighted to hear from their sales manager Rachel who said they would be keen to donate.

“There have been setbacks and delays along the way, but we’re grateful that Bellway’s donation will contribute towards the purchase of re-roofing materials.”

Bellway is building 100 homes at Redlands Grove, on land off Wanborough Road in the village. Earlier this year, the housebuilder donated £500 towards the annual Wanborough Village and Country Show.

Rachel Way, sales manager for Bellway South West, said: “St Andrew’s is a beautiful medieval church and it has exceptional architectural and historical importance to the village of Wanborough.

“As well as building homes across the region, we are keen to reach out and see how we can help the communities close to where we build. When Gaynor contacted us about the re-roofing of the church, we understood her concern about the costs of preserving it.

“It is pleasing to know that our donation will help the church to carry out its repairs with Welsh slate cladding. We wish the church all the best with its ongoing fundraising efforts and look forward to seeing the building back in use in the near future.”

For more information about the church’s fundraising appeal, visit https://givealittle.co/campaigns/afafcdfb-0ebf-4464-991d-468cf0e54dc8