A fundraising effort to repair a Victorian church roof has received a huge cash boost - but church officials have warned more money is still desperately needed.

A fundraising effort to repair a Victorian church roof has received a huge cash boost - but church officials have warned more money is still desperately needed.

Christ Church in New Catton, Norwich, has been awarded £93,000 from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to add to the £30,000 it has already collected towards urgently needed roof repairs.

The church in Magdalen Road, which was turned down for an English Heritage grant last year, is one of 70 Grade II listed places of worship to get a share of £6.6m repair grants and is the recipient of the biggest grant in the east of England.

The Rev Keith Crocker, 57, said: “We have known that we needed this work doing for a long time and we're very pleased with the grant and looking to get the roof repaired as soon as possible.

“Our fundraising effort has already been helped by members of the congregation and an appeal has gone out to people who live near the church, which we have had a positive response to. English Heritage is now investigating whether work needs to be done to the south side of the roof as well as just the north side.”

Church officials have also applied to other charities, including Norfolk Churches' Trust, for financial help.

Churchwarden Brian Larkman said: “This essential financial support is helping breathe new life into our church which is at the centre of our community. The contribution will go a substantial way towards repairing our roof.

“But one of the things which needs to be emphasised is that, although this is a very generous grant, by our own efforts we have already raised £30,000 and, depending on what the English Heritage investigations find, we are likely to have substantial sums still to find.”

The Gothic Lancet-style church was designed by John Brown in about 1840, using flint and gault brick dressing. It was the first church to be built outside the northern parts of the city wall.

Mr Larkman added that the exact final target would not be known until investigations were carried out in to the roof, but the church expects that an extra £20,000 to £30,000 will be needed.