THERE was good news for St Peter's Church in Lamerton this week when it was named as a beneficiary of a £10,000 grant from the National Churches Trust.

The grant will help pay for remedial work to deal with damp problems and falling masonry.

The grade two listed church dates from the 12th century while the body of the building is early 15th century. The church was rebuilt in 1880, following a fire.

The Rev Greg Stanton, the vicar of St Peter's, Lamerton, said: 'A lot of hard work and dedication has gone in from a lot of people to make this possible. It is a great effort. This is a real answer to our prayers.'

Churchwarden Ian Minshull was also delighted: 'We have had a lot of problems with drainage down the tower with water running over the electrics and had pieces of masonry dropping off the pinnacle, which is obviously a matter of safety.'

The application to the National Churches Trust by St Peter's, supported by a report from an architect, was one of eight it made to funding bodies, such as English Heritage, which recently awarded a total of £120,000, and all but one have been successful. The Devon Historic Church Trust also gave £1,500.

Since 2009 supporters of the church have raised an impressive £28,000 through fundraising events, normally once a month — barbecues, summer suppers, talks and concerts.

The total for the repair bill is £190,000 with £33,000 of investigative work to be done to establish the degree of work needed.

Costs include the scaffolding and specialised stonemasons. It is expected that it will be two months before definitive costings can be obtained, which cannot be done until the damage to the towers are professionally established.

Mr Minshull told the Times: 'We have certainly had to have faith to raise such a large sum of money and we still need a further £8,000 to £9,000.

'Lamerton is such a generous village, where everyone is willing to muck in as well as put their hands in their pockets. They may not necessarily go to church but neither do they want St Peter's to close.'

Having recently been entertained by Mount House School Choir the next fundraising concert at the church is the Launceston Male Voice Choir on August 17, at 7pm. Tickets at £5.50 are available by calling 01822 810027.