AS shoppers and workers go about their business around St Stephen's Church, a small group of dedicated stonemasons are slowly but surely chipping away 140ft up.

The painstaking work to restore the 156-year-old spire to its original magnificence is finally happening after years of fund-raising, thanks to just five men.

The £300,000 project is being carried out by Northfield-based Conway Stonemasonry and Somerset-based Nimbus, who are also renovating parts of St Paul's Cathedral at the moment.

The team is restoring the landmark from top to bottom under the watchful eye of foreman, Mark Reed.

Mr Reed said: "Basically we're replacing the blocks of stone one at a time.

"We take measurements and moulds of the original stone and then send them down to be carved on the ground.

"But the erosion over the years has been so bad that we don't have that many details to work on."

The new pieces for the spire are being carved from square blocks of Staffordshire Hollington stone at a rate of about three a day.

But it is certainly not a job for those lacking a head for heights.

Mr Reed said his men could feel the top of the spire rock back and forth when the wind blew but added that the view of Redditch was quite impressive.

Stonemason Steve Presley, who with a hammer and chisel has his feet planted firmly on the ground, said: "I've got it easy down here."

The restoration project should be complete by October.

The church's foundation stone was laid in 1853 and construction cost £6,000 before it was finally consecrated in 1855.