AN AMESBURY church needs to raise £50,000 after being left in a "desperate situation".

St Mary and St Melor Church, on Church Street, is in such a poor condition that the roof requires urgent repair work, as it is at a high risk of collapse.

Councillor Mark Verbinnen has been leading a fundraising team for the last 18 months to try and save the roof, but in the last 24 hours, after a meeting with architects and engineers, things have become desperate.

He said: "The roof is held up by giant wooden trusses. The conclusion now is that the damage to the middle truss requires urgent repair, as it is at a high risk of collapse.

"For the work to begin, we have to pay up front in March. So far we have raised a fantastic £175,000, and with grant money we have applied for, we are still short by at least £50,000.

"We need to raise at £350,000."

Salisbury Journal:

St Mary and St Melor is a parish church, an independent charity, and is around 1,000 years old.

Mark said the roof could collapse "literally any minute".

He added: "The next time we have any heavy rain, or any snow, it could collapse. That's how desperate it is.

"1,000 years of history is only two months away from being permanently lost. There are dozens of great causes out there that deserve our help, but the reality is we have exhausted all the funding sources and are now desperate and hope we can receive the rest from donations."

To donate to the church, go to justgiving.com/campaign/saveamesburychurch.