A CHURCHYARD retaining wall has collapsed.

The wall collapsed outside St Kenelm's Church in Upton Snodsbury, reportedly at around 1am this morning(Monday).

The debris is blocking part of the B4082 and traffic lights are in operation.

Church fabric officer and council member, Jeffrey Smith said: "We do not have a lot of funds so this is a major blow to the church.

"It is bad enough that the wall collapsed but it would have been a lot worse if someone was injured by it, but thankfully this did not happen.

"The police and the highways did a really good job to close off part of the road very quickly and efficiently as there is no street lighting along there.

"It could have been quite dangerous if someone was speeding around the corner or if there were any pedestrians walking along."

Mr Smith believes that the wall has been there since the mid 1700s and that the collapse of the wall was caused by an old sycamore tree behind the wall.

He added: "A sycamore tree was removed from behind the wall about 14 years ago to try and stop the wall moving outwards.

"The tree's roots were underneath it (the wall) but it has continued to move outwards, we were in advanced stages for getting permission to put some ground anchors in to stabilise it but we will have to restart funding applications.

Mr Smith thinks that the wall will take between £20,000 and £30,000 to repair.

He said: "We are going to apply for grants from various different bodies, but invariably we will have to do some fundraisers and get support from local people which we have been very thankful to over the years."

A Worcestershire County Council spokesman was unsure how long it would be until the road returned to normal working order.

A Worcestershire County Council spokesman said: "Highways personnel have installed barriers and a traffic management system until the debris has been cleared to ensure the road is safe for motorists and pedestrians."