A RAWRETH Church has started £21,000 of repairs on a subsiding wall, with only £3,500 in the kitty.

To raise the remaining £17,500, St Nicholas Church, in Church Road, has launched a desperate appeal for donations - led by the Rev Paul Trathen.

He said: "The east wall, at the altar end of the church, is heading for Rayleigh unless we do work to stop it.

"Unless major and immediate repairs are done the community is in danger of losing what is a heritage building."

Mr Trathen explained the problems started during the Second World War, when a bomb was dropped by a Luftwaffe plane heading for London.

It landed close to the church, destabilising the building.

He said: "Following that incident, the Victorian-built wall was rebuilt in the 1950s, but it now needs further strengthening.

"The top section of the wall will need to be taken down and rebuilt, to prevent more slippage and keep the wall there for at least another 100 years."

The Parochial Church Council is so worried about the extent of problems with the wall, it has given the go-ahead for repair work to start immediately, and builders moved in on Monday.

Mr Trathen has already approached businesses Asda and Makro, who he said were interested to help. Anybody interested in helping with fundraising can call treasurer Heather Wicker on 01268 730586.