Burley Methodist Church fundraisers are celebrating a £10,000 boost to their redevelopment appeal.

Church members need to raise about £350,000 to fund their appeal to modernise the church interior. The Sunday School building next door will then be sold for conversion into flats.

An auction held last month brought in £2,717, with more than 300 items sold in two hours.

The total now stands at about £28,000. The church's initial target is to raise £80,000 which will then enable applications to be made for grants from charitable bodies.

The auction was the latest fundraising idea from the Methodist Church team.

The church treasurer has handed out £10 notes to members who have six months to make as much profit as they can from it.

A church spokesman said: "The auction went very well and we are all very pleased with the amount added to the appeal - although we still have a long way to go. The money has come in quicker than some people expected."

Schemes are in hand for selling handicrafts and home made cakes and conserves and one member is holding periodic recitals of taped and recorded music in his home.

If alterations go ahead, the gallery, which runs round three sides of the church, will be enclosed as an upper floor to accommodate the Sunday School and ancillary rooms.

Pews will be replaced with chairs and the ground floor worship area and vestibule will be redesigned.

Other fundraising schemes include a sponsored Easter walk, a plant sale and a bell ringers concert.

The 1998 gift day will be held on the last weekend in September - 25, 26 and 27 - combined with the flower festival. The 1997 gift day set the fundraising ball rolling, bringing in £10,000.

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