REPAIRS are due to begin on a West Devon catholic church next week, thanks to money raised from parishioners and two generous grants.

Our Lady and St Mary Magdalen in Callington Road, Tavistock is a Grade II Listed building built in 1865, commissioned by the Duke of Bedford.

Although the building is sound, the Victorian drains need replacing, and minor work is needed on some of the outside walls.

The £50,000 needed to carry out the work has been raised by parishioners with the assistance of grants from Devon Historic Buildings Trust and English Heritage.

Peter Jones, a parishioner who has been involved with the initiation of the works, said: 'The parishioners raised the money through jumble sales, a stall in Tavistock Pannier Market, and coffee mornings and we also had good donations from English Heritage and Devon Historic Churches Trust.

'Because it's a Grade II Listed building it's difficult to do anything to it, so we've been working closely with English Heritage.

'We had a big survey done in 2008 to check the quality of the fabric of the building and confirm the church is sound, but it showed the Victorian drains had collapsed, meaning water was not flowing away properly and running down the walls — potentially running into the fabric of the building.

'It is very important to do these works because the foundations could in time be affected.

'The church also needs minor work high up, so scaffolding will be needed to reach the areas.'

Mr Jones said the church and services would be running as normal and the majority of the work would be on the outside of the building.

The work is due to start on Monday, June 18 and is scheduled to be completed in early September.