Work to repair the roof of St John the Baptist Church in Somersham has been completed thanks to thousands of pounds of grant funding.

Rev Sue Simpson, rector of the church, climbed the scaffolding to the roof this week to inspect the newly completed re-slating of the chancel.

Water had been leaking into the church for many months, damaging the internal fabric of the building, partly because the old slates were a patchwork of repairs that had taken place over the years.

The new Welsh slates should last more than 100 years, according to the contractors, Fairhaven Stone. The work cost more than £37,000 and was paid for partly by grants of £5,000 from both the Garfield Weston Trust and the National Churches Trust, with £1,000 coming from the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust.

The Friends of Somersham Parish Church also contributed £5,000 and more than £8,000 came from villagers and others who responded to a sponsor a slate appeal, with the remainder coming from church funds.

Details of the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches Trust’s work can be found at www.camhct.uk.