VOLUNTEERS working to restore a Kates Hill church will get a helping hand from Dudley North MP Ian Austin.

Members of St John's Church Preservation Group had battled for nine years to save the historic building - which had been closed for 14 years - and their prayers were finally answered last year, when they became leaseholders and reopened the church in August.

However a lot of work needs to be done to get the church up to scratch so group chairman, Deb Brownlee, is calling on people to 'Take The Pledge' and commit to spending two hours each month.

Those who take the pledge will be asked to do odd jobs and volunteer their time to help keep the church open to the public seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.

Mr Austin put pen to paper and signed the pledge during a recent visit to the church and also vowed to donate £100 to the campaign group's funds from the good causes fund he set up with the MP's pay rise.

He said: "Deb Brownlee and her team have campaigned tirelessly to bring the church back into use for the community. They raised funds, recruited volunteers and worked non-stop to save the church for local people.

"There's still a lot of work to do and I want to help the group in the future as I have tried to do in the past."