One of the most visited churches in the UK has issued a fresh appeal for funds to carry out repairs on its leaking roof.

Haworth Parish Church, the burial place of the Bronte sisters, needs to raise £1.25 million to carry out essential repairs and improvements.

But after almost a year of fundraising the church has raised only £15,000.

Now church leaders are pleading for people to dig deep to safeguard the historic church’s future.

The Reverend Peter Mayo-Smith said: “The roof is really in a bad state of repair. It is old and had come to the end of its life, but repeated lead thefts haven’t helped.

“We have got to get this building sorted. The water runs through the ceiling and down the walls and we clean up puddles of it every time it rains.

“In the south aisle there has been a tarpaulin fixed to the ceiling over the organ for more than two years to protect it from the water coming in.”

English Heritage has agreed in principal to pay 60 per cent of the £250,000 needed to fix the leaks. However, the church still needs to find at least £185,000 before the building can be made watertight and further funds will be needed for internal improvements.

Mr Mayo-Smith said: “It became very obvious to me through conversations in the village that people weren’t aware of the seriousness of the state of the building.

“Since we have announced it people have been incredibly generous, but we have still got a long way to go.”

Visit haworthchurch.co.uk to donate to the restoration fund.