PEOPLE in Worcester should be digging deeper into their pockets to help restore one of the city's major landmarks, reported Steve Broughton in our paper in December 1994.

That was the message from David Beacham, warden at All Saints Church where stone pinnacles are being replaced 20 years after the decaying originals had to be taken down.

Fundraising started two years ago to restore the tower of the 18th-century church in Deansway and members of the public have contributed about £23,500 to the £138,000 costs.

Mr Beacham said: "I've been slightly disappointed with the response from people in Worcester.

"I honestly think we should have had much more from Worcester people.

"But people seem to think there is always someone else who will pay."

He said the restoration project could not have gone ahead without a series of grants, including £69,000 from English Heritage, £20,000 from the Worcester Diocese and £10,000 from the Historic Churches Preservation Fund.

The 62-year-old continued: "The church doesn't have the same profile as Worcester Cathedral.

"It was easier for the cathedral to raise millions than it was for us to raise hundreds of thousands.

"I did wonder if I would see this project completed in my lifetime."

The pinnacles, exact replicas of the originals designed by architects Wheatley Taylor Stainburn Lines and built by stonemasons Ben Davis Limited, will be in place this week and the entire tower parapet should be completed by Christmas.

The rest of the restoration, including work on windows and buttresses, should be finished by the end of February 1995.

But Mr Beacham stressed that fundraising had to continue and interest-free loans of £15,000 still had to be paid off.

He added: "That money will have to come from donations and local fundraising.

"I don't think we can get any more grants. People might see the scaffolding come down but the money still has to be raised."