PARISHIONERS will be protected from the elements after a century-old church which was threatened with demolition received a massive grant to finish vital repairs.

St Margaret’s Parish Church will no longer have to place buckets among the congregation to catch rainwater leaking through the roof after English Heritage donated £154,000.

The church on Woodhouse Road, Leytonstone, will now carry out vital repairs after receiving its second grant in as many years.

Last year, £45,000 went towards repairing the church’s nave roof.

This additional sum will finish repairs on the church’s chancel, spire and bell tower, and also leave enough to fit a new central heating system.

Parish priest Father Robert Page, 43, said this should help improve the status of the church in the community.

He said: “If the place looks like a mess and uncared for then people that come here will feel the same.

“If people can see things are being put right, I think it helps people feel wanted. (The money) should really energise the place.

“This is very much a community based church. Across the two masses on Sunday we have about 100 people.

“That has improved dramactically in the eight years that I have been here. At the last count, I think we had about 35 nationalities.”

A plan to demolish the existing building and erect a new church was under consideration when Father Page arrived in the parish.

He said: “When I came here eight years ago, it was crunch time. The church was at that stage of almost being unusable.

“Alot of the churches in London were all built about 1870 to 1890, and like all buildings, they have a projected life span.

“Here, because it’s not quite such a well known place, it’s been sort of ignored.

“It’s never closed, even when the work was going on - even with the buckets for the leaks and the scaffolding on the walls.

“It is something about that stability that has given rise to a great feeling between the church and the community.

The church runs social events every week, including activities for both the young and the elderly.

According to Father Page, the church’s most prized asset is its weekly lunch club, which provides hot food for those in need.