It has been at the heart of one community for more than 500 years.

But now under the strapline of 'looking to the future - building on tradition,' an historic church is aiming to safeguard the building for future generations.

An appeal was launched to Raise the Roof at St Edmunds Church in Kessingland, near Lowestoft in August – as £190,000 needs to be raised 'to make our church safe,' according to church officials.

With the thatched roof of the church and building itself in need of urgent repairs, the cost of the works is expected to amount to around £190,000.

And so the church launched a fundraising campaign in the quest to raise £190,000. The first event saw a heritage weekend raise £3,236 in August, with a single gift of £5,000 given anonymously to therefore make it more than £8,000 raised from the launch weekend.

With the community praised for their support, a church spokesman said the fundraising has now grown to just over £10,000 for which they are 'very grateful.'

The spokesman added: 'In order to pay for the work, various fundraising events are being organised and in the very near future we will be seeking grants from various funding bodies.

'One new form of fundraising we are about to implement over the next year or so is our 'sponsor a batch of thatch' campaign.

'It sounds strange perhaps, but having been told that one bundle of thatch costing £15 will cover approximately one square foot of the roof we thought it would be a great idea to ask for sponsorship by parishioners or anyone else who might be interested!'

Church officials said that for every bundle sponsored, the name of the sponsor will be added to a commemorative roll of names, which will be kept permanently in the church as a record of their generosity.

A batch of thatch can be sponsored personally, even bought as a gift for someone else or even as a memorial to a loved one.

If you would like to sponsor a 'batch of thatch' visit the church's website www.kessinglandbenefice.uk/st-edmunds or telephone the rector of the Kessingland benefice, Rev Janet Wyer, for further details via 01502 740256.