AN appeal to save the future of a historic Dudley church is gaining pace, as supporters have raised enough cash to maintain St John's Church for another month.

Members of the St Johns Preservation Group launched an urgent appeal last month to save the grade II listed church in Kates Hill as it faced the prospect of financial ruin and ultimate closure if vital funds could not be raised during the coronavirus lockdown.

The group's funds were reduced to zero as lockdown measures put a stop to their fundraising efforts and the group feared that if they could not pay their bills they would be forced to hand over the keys to the building.

Deb Brownlee, chair of the group, called for at least 400 people to sign up as a Friend to make monthly donations to secure the future of the church.

Three weeks on, the group has gained 52 new Friends which means the group has raised enough donations to run the church until the end of June.

The appeal still has a way to go but the new Friends have been warmly appreciated by the group.

Deb explained: "The target is 400 Friends, which may sound a lot but we have 1600 followers on our Facebook and others who have followed the group closely in the press.

"The first 50 have now seen how really urgent this is and stepped forward to help. We are proud to say that includes members of our volunteer team, who are now giving funds as well as time.

"Other Friends are relations of former clergy at St John's, people with family connections and some who care about Black Country heritage and history."

The Friends reopened the 179-year-old church in 2016 following a community campaign after the church was closed in 2002 due to safety concerns.

The team, all made up volunteers, have worked tirelessly to bring the church into use for the community and to celebrate its history, which includes being the burial place of the Tipton Slasher, Mary Ann Mason, the Hansons Beer family and Marion Richardson.

The news was welcomed by Black Country historian Dr Carl Chinn, who has been a patron of the group since 2009.

Dr Chin said: "This is a great start to creating the Friends group that can save St John's Church again, and this time more securely with a guaranteed income from caring benefactors to cushion and protect the project through bad times and good. I'm urging more people to come forward and join the Friends, and make sure this iconic and important building is not lost forever, like so many others have been."

The threat of closure still remains, so the group is continuing to call for people to join as Friends to create a sustainable income stream to secure the future of the church.

Speaking last month on the importance of the church to community, Deb said: "If we don't raise the money, when this is all over people will look around and think, where is St Johns? It would be a sad ending after all these years."

To become a Friend of St Johns email savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk or call 0752 218 4461.

Anyone can become a Friend, including individuals and companies, with each Friend asked to pay £5 a month to support the church.