AN energetic vicar, who slept on the roof of her Worcester church to raise funds to fix it, is delighted the repair work is under way.

The Rev Janet House said real community spirit had helped to generate the thousands of pounds needed to restore the exterior of Holy Trinity & St Matthew's Church.

The distinctive building in Ronkswood, known locally as "the drum" because of its shape, needed a makeover of around £34,000, with the cladding on its walls peeling apart.

More than £3,000 was raised from Mrs House's unusual sleepover.

And with church services to raise funds, numerous sponsored events and additional grants during the last two years the money has been found.

It means the church is finally being revamped, and Mrs House hopes its new look exterior will be a positive focal point for the Ronkswood community.

"The new look of the church is beginning to take shape really quickly, and the whole community should be really proud of all their hard work and fund-raising efforts," she said.

"It will be a focal point at the heart of this community and we will be having a special service in July to celebrate the completion."

Sponsored events at the church included creating a huge coin trail of 10p pieces around the building, which raised a staggering £700.

A bike ride from the Lichfield Avenue church to other places of worship around the city also proved a real success, with all the fund-raising initiatives generating around £13,000 in total.

The remainder of the money has been raised through the help of grants from various charitable bodies and businesses include Welcome to our Future- part of the Severn Waste Environmental Fund, Worcestershire and Dudley Historic Churches Trust, Laslett's (Hinton) Charity and Garfield Weston.

The celebration service will take place on Sunday, July 18, at 6pm and will be attended by the Archdeacon of Worcester, the Ven Dr Joy Tetley.