Crumbling church buildings throughout the district are to receive a facelift, thanks to thousands of pounds worth of grant money.

A joint initiative between English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide £1.5 million to ailing church buildings throughout Yorkshire, with a large chunk of this to be spent on churches in the Bradford area.

One of the churches set to benefit will be Holy Trinity Church in Queensbury.

The church has been allocated more than £170,000 to carry out desperately needed work to repair roof tiles, many of which are held on by the same nails used to put them up in 1845. The Reverend Peter Hedge said: "The news has come in the nick of time for us. We are extremely grateful to English Heritage.

"The old iron nails holding the slates in place had rusted through and slates were dropping off faster then we could put them back up. We were seriously considering closing the building.

"The news has really breathed new life back into the congregation."

Another church to receive a grant is Gomersal Moravian in Cleckheaton.

The church's imposing red-brick structure celebrates its 250th birthday this year. And now after securing the grant to carry out much needed repair work, the church is facing a double celebration.

The church, with a congregation of just over 30, is a grade II listed building and will receive £79,000. Church treasurer Les Machell said: "We are very pleased as we've been concerned about the deteriorating fabric for some time. It is very important we can rectify the damage caused by age and the weather to ensure the church remains viable."

Other churches in the area receiving grants include St Anne's Catholic in Keighley, Whitechapel in Cleckheaton and Holy Trinity Church in Cowling.

Fiona Spears, regional manager of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "Churches and places of worship are often the most prominent symbols of a community's heritage and have huge historic value.

For details about applying for next year's grants, telephone 0870 3331181.