Restoration work at one of the region's churches is bound to strike a chord with its parishioners.

Work begins today on repairing the historic Holdich organ at St Margaret's Church, in Upton, as a result of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The project to restore the church's organ recently received a grant of £72,800 from the fund, which will see the instrument completely dismantled and rebuilt to its former glory.

A temporary organ will be installed to keep the church on song in the meantime, which work on the instrument is carried out by specialist organ restorers Bower and Co.

It is due to be returned to the state it was in before 1962, when it was altered. Richard Bower, who has been entrusted with the task, said: 'I am thrilled that we can now restore the vibrancy of this wonderful organ, built by an exceptional Victorian craftsman.'

Canon Nick Garrard added: 'We're thrilled the organ is being restored –it's taken us 11 years to reach this point, so we are delighted. The organ gives a lot of character to the church.'

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