PARISHIONERS from an historic Westhoughton church are "heading home" next week after months of restoration work.

Worshippers at St James', Daisy Hill, have been using their school building for services since the summer while workmen carry out extensive repairs inside their Grade II listed building.

For the last six years £250,000 has been spent on the Lower Leigh Road brick and terracotta church, which dates from the 1880s.

The building has been re-roofed, gutters and down spouts have been replaced, dry rot eradicated, bells restored and brickwork repaired and repointed.

Last year scaffolding had to be erected inside the Victorian structure so worshippers had to move out, and weddings and funerals have been conducted at nearby St Bartholomew's Church instead.

But on January 24 the congregation is moving back in, starting with an 8.30am communion and then a 10am morning service.

"I can't tell you how good it will be," said the Rev Ray Coward. "It will be like going back home again."

The most recent stage of the work was part funded by a £120,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund plus £50,000 raised by the church.

But the vicar estimates that around £250,000 more needs to be spent over the next three or four years to make the historic building fit to last well into the new Millennium.

Planned work includes installing a new heating system, more repointing, the creation of a community room and, most urgently, renewing outdated electrics.

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