EMERGENCY funding from the Government, in the light of Covid crisis, could help to mend Ledbury Parish Church's leaky spire.

And it could also help to preserve essential traditional skills which, otherwise, might be lost.

As part of its recovery plan from the Covid-19 outbreak the Government

has allocated funding to Historic England.

Writing in the current online parish magazine, the Parochial Church Council secretary, Andrew Beech said of the potential windfall: "This is intended to provide work for conservation-grade craftsmen and -women to prevent their skills being lost.

"The Church of England will be bidding for some of that money to use on church and cathedral projects."

He added: "As a major church we have been asked to bid for some of those of you around the church on 21 September may have noticed steeplejacks up the spire. They were there to assess the work needed to make the spire watertight, which it isn’t at present.

"This may form part of our bid for funding."