AN appeal to raise funds for a church roof has past the half-way mark, attracting donations from foreign tourists as well as local people.

The appeal was launched at the start of September with the aim of raising some £5,000 to re-roof St James's Church, West Malvern.

And already between £2,500 and £3,000 has been received in donations and through 'selling' roof tiles.

The appeal's cartoon mascot, Wat Tiler, has been urging people to 'Put On The Tile' by forking out 50p per tile.

Every tile will be given a number which will go into a raffle, with the grand prize being a dinner for two at a top hotel.

David Wright, chairman of the Friends of St James's Church, said: "Our canvassing campaign is going very well.

"It's not only the congregation who are contributing but people who attend other churches. We've also had money from people who aren't churchgoers at all but appreciate the church as a focal point in the community. They have all been very generous.

"We have even had some overseas contributions, visitors from the USA and Norway who found out about the appeal and who wanted to help."

The appeal is needed because the roof of the 130-year-old church is falling into disrepair,

Mr Wright said: "We want to do the work now before it really starts letting the water in and beams start rotting and bits start falling on people.

"The only disappointment is that the actual work is not likely to start as soon as we would have liked. We were hoping the sight of scaffolding round the roof would act as an incentive. But work won't be starting until the New Year."