A CHURCH clock is now keeping perfect time with a helping hand from parishioners.

For 130 years, the clock in the tower of St Mary’s RC Church, in Blackhill, near Consett has been a local landmark, visible for miles around, while its chimes every quarter hour kept time for generations of steelworkers and their families.

But in the last few years, the clock which was installed in 1888 by Potts's of Leeds, has failed to keep time and parishioners held a fund raising drive to bring in the £6,000 needed to have it repaired.

Parish council member Jim McCrory said: “For a number of years now it has been gaining time and one hand of the clock hasn’t been working for a couple of years.

“Members of the local community were always asking about it and a lot of the special needs groups and elderly people who come in to use the Kennedy Care Centre in the church hall used to say it was lovely to see the clock when it was working.

“We were always being asked when we would get it fixed, but we couldn’t afford it. Now we have not only raised the money to have it repaired, we have an ongoing fund to make sure it will be properly serviced properly in future”.

The timepiece, which has two faces, was taken away for a two-week renovation by expert repairers Smiths of Derby and is now back in place, working like clockwork.

Members of the congregation raised £3,000 for the repairs with a string of events, including a performance by musicians Men In Black at the Kennedy Care Centre.

The money was match-funded by local councillors Stephen Robinson and Peter Oliver, with £1,500 each from their neighbourhood budgets.

Cllr Oliver said: “We have helped the church with quite a few projects over the years and when they approached us this time we were happy to help”.