A HISTORIC church that was devastated by the Boxing Day floods will not be open in time for Easter.

The Radcliffe Parish Church of St Mary, in Church Green, was among the worst-affected locations in the town, with thousands of pounds worth of damage caused and priceless historic artefacts ruined.

It had initially been hoped that the church could be open again in time for Easter services, but more repairs are still needed before parishioners can be welcomed back.

The Rev Carol Hayden said: "There is no date set yet for when we might re-open. We have got to have some masonry work done which is going to happen at the end of March. They have got to relay the floor in the bell tower because that had been badly damaged in the floods.

"Everything has been taken out that needing to either be cleaned or thrown away and we are just waiting for the specialists to do their work.

"At first I had hoped we could be open again by Easter but I think I was being a bit optimistic with that."

In the meantime, the church's congregation have been encouraged to worship at St Thomas and St John's Parish, in Blackburn Street.

Specialist cleaning teams and document recovery experts were brought in to the Grade I listed building to do everything possible to restore the delicate books, records, and other artefacts that were damaged.

Mrs Hayden said that, had £50,000 renovation work not been completed on the church last year, the damage caused by the floods could have been far more serious.

As the damage was covered by the church's insurance, she asked people wishing to make donations to instead give to the town's flood relief fund, which is now taking applications.

The fund, which has collected more than £8,000 to be distributed to flood victims in Radcliffe and the Warth area of Bury, is prioritising households with elderly people, young children, people with disabilities or mental health needs, or low income.

For more information email radcliffefloodrelief@gmail.com or write to Flood Relief, Radcliffe United Reformed Church, Blackburn Street, Radcliffe M26 3WQ.