THE success of a £25,000 fundraising campaign which has saved a Victorian village church will be celebrated at an event on Sunday.

All Saints' Church, Hollybush, faced a bleak future two years ago, when a structural survey revealed that the west wall was in danger of collapse.

Faced with the threat of closure, parishioners launched an emergency fundraising appeal.

Renovations are now nearly complete. The west wall has been re-built and replastered and interior walls have been stripped, re-sealed and re-painted.

Coffee mornings, an Easter draw at the Farmer's Arms in Birtsmorton, concerts, a flower festival and public donations helped to swell the fund.

Donations were even received from as far afield as America and Australia, with appeals to the relatives of former village residents and gifts from visitors adding to the total.

The success of the appeal will be marked at the church's patronal festival on Sunday, when the newly refurbished church will be rededicated at a songs of praise service.

The event is on Sunday at 6.30pm. Special guests will be Martin Peters, who carried out the original survey, and Graham Walker, of contractors Town and Country Construc-tion.

Celia Greatwood, secretary of the PCC, said anyone who donated to the appeal would be welcome to come and see the changes at the church and join in with the service.

The church, built of Malvern stone, was consecrated in 1869 and known as the Quarryman's Church, being built for workers at Hollybush Quarry.