A CHURCH in a small village in the shadow of the Malvern Hills has received £87,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to pay for urgent repair work.

The money will pay for damp-proofing measures and the installation of new lighting at St Faith's Church in Berrow, near Castlemorton.

And parishioners proudly wore Heritage Lottery Fund badges at the church service on Sunday to celebrate the news and show their gratitude.

The congregation has already raised over £30,000 as its contribution towards the cost of the repairs to the church, which dates back to the 1100s.

Elisabeth Rambridge, chairman of the restoration appeal, described the award as a "huge achievement for our rural community".

She said: "The grant so generously given by the Heritage Lottery Funds not only means we can deal with the problems caused by damp, but also we can install new lighting to make the building more versatile for community use.

"We also want to celebrate the heritage within the church and churchyard by improving the display of information."

She said that the congregation's fundraising had started in 2012 with a talk by antiques expert Phillip Serrell and has carried on with additional talks, fairs and other events.

"The support of the Heritage Lottery Fund in making possible projects such as ours in a small rural community is invaluable. I always say, this is an ordinary church that was built for ordinary people – and it is ordinary people who are valiantly working to secure it for the future."

Rev Julie James, who has just completed her first year as rector at St Faith's, said: "All the members of the benefice have taken a keen interest in the Faith in the Future Appeal, which has also raised the fantastic sum of over £30,000 to go towards the project.

"The heritage event, A Diamond of Faith, held as part of the heritage open day in September, showed the strong commitment we all have to maintaining our beautiful buildings and being open to ways in which they can adapt to changing times."