AN appeal to raise £10,000 to save a crumbling church from closure has reached £7,000.

The Church of the Venerable Bede, at Leavening, near Malton, faced closure because of its condition, said clerk of works Pat Conn.

"We have had to give top priority to re-roofing the church, repointing and replacing crumbling stonework," he said.

The building was originally the village school.

Mr Conn said two ideas were being pursued - to make the church a joint place of worship with the Methodist congregation in Leavening, and building a porch on the front which would double as a bus shelter.