A church congregation returns to its spiritual home this weekend for the first time since Easter.

Contractors have been installing a new heating system and new wiring at the St Joseph and St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, in Newbiggin, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

The £85,000 refit has also included redecoration and the restoration of the church kneelers.

Some parishioners have spent much of the past week helping with the finishing touches, and the first public service in the new-look building will be an evening Mass at 6pm tonight.

"The new heating system will certainly help warm the bodies inside the church as well as the fabric of the building," said Father Kevin Trehy.

"We are very much looking forward to making the most of the enhanced facilities now the work is complete."

While the work has been taking place, the congregation has been sharing St Joan of Arc Church, at Catterick Garrison, where new friendships have been forged over recent weeks.

A formal celebration to mark the end of the Richmond project is planned on Wednesday, September 17, when the Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Right Reverend John Crowley, will lead a special Mass which will include a rededication of the church, starting at 7pm.