VILLAGERS are celebrating after reaching another milestone in their quest to regenerate their church.

The Under The Roof Appeal, in Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, has completed its ambition to restore the dome ceiling at St James' Church.

The project has cost about £7,000 and been made possible with a grant from English Heritage and fundraising events.

This is the second phase in the plan to restore the church and make it more accessible for all parishioners and the disabled.

A new roof, costing £120,000, was completed last year marking the end of phase one.

Unfortunately, as work on the roof was being carried out a large piece of the decorative dome ceiling above the altar collapsed, which spurred villagers into further fundraising.

The new ceiling is covered in stars on a deep blue background and is attracting a number of visitors.

St James' parish priest, Father Gary Nicholson, said: "Everybody knows St James' for its ceiling. It is a big talking point about the church and everyone is delighted it has been restored."

To celebrate its restoration, the village is holding a Festival of Stars and Talents this weekend.

It will feature an exhibition of arts, crafts and hobbies, all created by people from the village.

Fr Nicholson said: "We have a lot of talented people in this village who don't often get the opportunity to display their crafts and this will be what this weekend is all about."

A cheese and wine evening on Friday will launch the weekend's events and a celestial songs of praise on Sunday at 6pm will bring it to a close.

The weekend will also mark the start of the fundraising drive for phase three of the appeal.

The church needs to raise another £150,000 to put in a new disabled access, toilets, kitchen and an education porch. Fr Nicholson said he was confident that villagers would dig deep into their pockets once more to raise the cash.

He said: "Coundon is a good community. This is their parish church and they come together to support everything we have done. This has been a continuous campaign and I have no doubt the community will continue to support us."