A CAMPAIGN to raise £176,000 to replace slippery gravestone paths around Bingley parish church has the backing of champion triathletes the Brownlee brothers.

Local heroes Alistair and Jonny have signed a Bingley Harriers running vest to be raffled in aid of the fundraising efforts of All Saints’ church on Old Main Street now that full permission has been granted to remove dozens of stones.

The current pathways were created from the old stones removed from the graveyard to allow the building of Keighley Road at the start of the 20th Century.

Bodies buried beneath were moved up to Bailey Hills cemetery and the memorial stones were later spread around the church forming readable paths.

“Over the years the stones have moved and become dangerously uneven. The surface, especially in shaded areas, becomes greasy and slippery in the rain and snow,” said church warden Linda Chapman.

“We have tried cleaning, scrubbing and blasting them, but they just become so treacherous.

“There must have been dozens of broken bones and strained muscles over the years.

“I know of somebody breaking an ankle and another case o fa broken leg and there have been loads of nasty bumps and bangs.

“As a church, we’re not prepared to have a situation where people are unable to attend due to fear of falling on these slippery paths.

“We had one old gentleman who’d been to church for 30 years and would have come until the day he died, but the stones got so bad that it was impossible to get his wheelchair over the bumps,” Mrs Chapman said.

“We now have full approval from the Diocese and planning permission from Bradford Council’s planning department to remove them and create new safe walkways around the church.

“Some of the old stones may remain to be used as interesting features in the churchyard.”

Fellow church warden Enid Bennett said while the carved stones of the paths were interesting to look at, they proved a great risk to visitors unaware of the danger.

“Just imagine how awful it would be if a bride were to slip or a coffin were to be dropped?”

“It will cost about £150 to move each of the stones and we’ve had to pay for professional photographs of all the stones to help people trace relatives.

Mrs Chapman told how the Brownlee brothers came to donate the signed running vest.

“A friend of mine knows them and I’m delighted they agreed to sign the shirt.

“I think they only did it because it was a Bingley vest.

“I was delighted that they did and we will be running a raffle with the hope of selling 1,000 tickets.”

The winner will be picked at the Christmas Carol service