A SIX-strong team of electricity workers got their brushes in hand as they repainted a church hall.

Volunteers from Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission staff helped refurbish the hall at St Giles Church in Gilesgate, Durham, which doubles as a home to the local scout group.

The 4th Durham (Gilesgate) Scout Group has been in existence since 1926 and the hall was in need of a spruce up, having been condemned but then rescued and repaired more than 20 years ago.

SHE Transmission staff volunteered to help out with the work under the company’s Be The Difference volunteering programme.

Tim Fletcher, a project manager for the company in Durham, has volunteered as cub scout leader for the last ten years.

He said: “It’s costly to maintain these buildings, so we thought if we got a team together who could work for the day, we could make a huge difference.

“The scouts use the hall from Monday through to Thursday and have done for many years now, so we wanted to do all we could to help preserve the building for at least another generation of youngsters interested in the scouting movement and the local community.

“We might not have gained an activity badge for our efforts, but just being able to help in this way in our community has been enough and it gave us all a real boost to see the result of our day’s work”.

The materials and tools needed to repaint the church hall had already been paid for by the scouts, but needed the labour to complete the transformation.