A NORTH Yorkshire church was gutted when fire struck on the day it celebrated its 144th birthday.

The blaze tore through Trinity Methodist Church, Norton, only hours after its congregation had gathered to give thanks for its anniversary.

Fire crews from Malton, Pickering and Sherburn tackled the fire, which broke out around 2.50pm at the church in Commercial Street.

A crew from York was also called out amid fears the fire was spreading to the roof.

Firefighters cut holes in the roof and windows to direct water jets into the building.

More than 30 of them battled for several hours to get the blaze under control.

Divisional officer Tony Dyer said it looked like the fire was started by a faulty electrical motor inside the church organ.

Although the church was badly damaged, its structure remained intact.

The Reverend Stewart Young, the minister, said: "There will be a rebuilding, there is no question about that. We will look to renovating and starting again in which ever ways we can."

Updated: 11:11 Monday, February 04, 2002