A CHURCH team is hoping to see a big reduction in its next electricity bill after solar panels were fitted to the historic building's roof.

The 16 panels could save St Matthew's Church, Bankfoot, up to £600 a year, which can be used for other projects.

It is thought to be the first church in the local area, after Bradford Cathedral, to start producing its own electricity.

Treasurer David Gibson said the hope was that eventually the panels would produce enough power to not only cover its own needs, but to feed back into the national grid - making the long-term investment pay-off.

The Grade II listed church has yet to receive its first bill since the solar panels were fitted in May, but Mr Gibson hopes the good weather over summer will mean it will be significantly lower than usual.

"I should think it will reduce the cost by about a third," he said.

"We have a community facility in the building which is used very regularly and constitutes quite a lot of our electricity use over the year, but now we're getting to be in a position where we can produce quite a lot of our requirements.

"We're hoping to get in a position where we can feed back into the grid."

The idea was suggested by church vicar, the Reverend Jimmy Hinton and, despite some initial concerns from parishioners, has been welcomed.

"In the local area, I think Bankfoot is the first church to have invested in this," Mr Gibson said.

"Nobody has had any adverse comments, all the comments we've had have been favourable."

The work was completed by Leeds-based company The Phoenix Works, which had previously fitted solar panels to a church in Farsley, Leeds.

A spokesman for the company said by applying for 'Feed in Tariff' payments, the church would receive a fixed income for the next 20 years.

Account manager Nicola Newby said: "The combination of environmental and financial savings will really benefit the church, reducing both their carbon footprint and electricity bills significantly."

Mr Gibson said he would urge other churches to consider solar panels.