A COMMUNITY church is on a mission to raise tens of thousands of pounds to carry out vital repairs to its 19th-century premises.

Millom Baptist Church is celebrating reaching a promising milestone in its bid to raise more than £60,000 to replace its leaking roof.

For the past three winters, community groups have endured the damp rooms at the back of the church, which regularly host a whole range of activities for people across the town.

Church secretary Jean Liney is delighted that a grant of £6,000 will mean work can finally begin to transform these well-used rooms.

Mrs Liney said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Copeland Community Fund and are confident that the project will encourage more groups to use the building knowing that it is going to be a warm, welcoming place, where people can come and meet to socialise locally.

"These rooms mean a lot to people in Millom. People would be hard pushed to find somewhere else that would accommodate them which has as many rooms as we do."

Almost every day, the community rooms at the Baptist Church house a number of popular groups and activities including a weekly coffee morning, a regular mother and toddlers group and a choir practice, in addition to the food bank which operates from there twice a week.

Work costing £12,000 has begun to repair the roof, which should be completed shortly after the New Year.

However despite reaching this major milestone, the church has an even bigger battle on its hands as it strives to raise a total of £50,000 to repair the main area of the church, which is in Crown Street.

Although £16,000 has been put aside for the project, Mrs Liney is turning to members of the community to dig deep and help restore their church to its former glory.

She said: "We've got a crowdfunding scheme to get everyone to put their name to a slate for £5.

"We've already raised £100 by doing that in just two weeks so we're happy that people are looking at that."

Built in 1867, Millom Baptist Church has long been a pillar of the community and Mrs Liney is encouraging people across the area to do all they can to keep this piece of history alive.

She said: "The building is used a lot for community use and is being used more and more for children's parties.

"We've lost so many shops and buildings over the years and it's a shame to see a building, especially a church, go to ruin."

<strong> Similar content: New asbestos discovery signals change of plan for Remembrance Sunday </strong>