A SECTION of road outside a former church with a spire that is in "imminent danger of collapse" could be closed for up to two weeks Worcestershire Highways has said.

The section of A449 Wells Road outside the former Emmanuel Evangelical Church was closed on Thursday night following an inspection of the church by Malvern Hills District Council.

Jon Frasier, head of highways at Worcestershire County Council, said: "It was inspected (on Thursday) by building inspectors from Malvern Hills District Council and they have advised us that the spire is in imminent danger of collapse.

"Because of that we have closed the road, it is for safety.

"We are getting some specific signage that says exactly where the closure is, it is a big road closure.

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"We are trying to keep HGVs out of the centre of Malvern because they can only go as far as Church Street.

"They are talking about possibly up to two weeks (for the closure). They are going to need to either take it down. or make it safe."

Mr Frasier added that the church has had scaffolding on it for a while, and appeared to be being developed.

A tweet from Worcs Highways & Travel said: "A449 Wells Road #Malvern is closed near the junction with Wyche Road

"Warning sign Advance warning signs are a work in progress and will be supplemented with specific wording about the location of the closure

"There is access to Malvern via A449 from Worcester up to Church Street."

It is unclear who owns the church - the Diocese of Worcester confirming it is not them after they were contacted. A spokesman for Malvern Hills District Council added it could not pass the owner's details on.

A spokesman for South Worcestershire Building Control said: “We had been monitoring the condition of this building but a recent inspection of the former Evangelical Church on Wells Road, Malvern, revealed the full extent of deterioration.

"Having sought the advice of a structural engineer it was deemed to be dangerous and immediate action is now required to make it safe.

"The spire is dangerous in its current condition and needs to be removed.

"Worcestershire County Council has closed the road and we have arranged for scaffolding to be put up around the building before the spire can be removed by crane and other work carried out to make the building safe.”