VITAL repair work will start soon at one of York's most distinctive churches - to the relief of worshippers who feared the building would be bulldozed.

Scaffolding today covers St Laurence's Parish Church, Lawrence Street, signalling the start of a flagship £300,000 revamp, backed by English Heritage.

Delighted churchwarden Brian Fletcher beamed: "We've come back from the brink."

Until recently fretful parishioners faced the real prospect of the Victorian-era building being axed and sold to circling property developers.

Surveys showed the place of worship had a host of structural problems, including dry rot in roof timbers, decayed stonework and condemned electrical wiring. Winter services are still being held in a nearby community centre because the church is too cold.

Cash calls to English Heritage fell on deaf ears because the church and spire - one of a handful of its kind left in the North - was only a Grade II listed site.

But the heritage group had a change of heart and agreed to fund a massive overhaul through its lottery reserves, securing the church's future for at least a decade.

Mr Fletcher told the Evening Press building experts were due at the site next Wednesday before the first stage of two-pronged restoration work begins.

He said: "This is one of the biggest-ever grants given to a Grade II listed building. It's a flagship scheme. Everything has completely turned around from two years ago when it was all doom and gloom", added Mr Fletcher, 72, who has been linked with the church since 1937.

First stage of work will see every timber in the church examined before the end of the year, in a £50,000 survey.

The total cost of work at St Laurence's - earmarked for closure in a church report in 2002 - is estimated at £296,000.

English Heritage offered £220,000 towards that sum, with the church relying on grants to meet the difference and so far a total of £50,000 has been raised.

A new vicar, the Rev John Richardson, from Redcar, will join the church in January.

Mr Fletcher said: "We're delighted that we are not going to close. We've got a new vicar and a new start ahead of us. The church is alive again and our prospects are absolutely wonderful."

Updated: 10:53 Wednesday, November 26, 2003