A musical marathon at Keighley Parish Church has raised more than £500 for the church tower roof appeal.

Resident organist Brenda Brown played for a finger-numbing six hours non-stop on Saturday.

During her stint at the keyboards, Mrs Brown played pieces by Bach and Mendelssohn as well as favourites from the Sound of Music.

she says: "I thoroughly enjoyed the day and played some pieces which haven't seen the light of day for quite some time, so it was nice to give them an airing. At the end of the performance the audience gave me a standing ovation and I was presented with a bouquet of flowers."

The marathon event helped to raise £219, with a further £297 coming from the sale of refreshments. The money will go towards the £12,000 repairs which are being carried out to the tower roof, which was damaged in the gale force winds on Christmas Eve last year.

Workmen are currently repairing the copper sheathing which was ripped off by the strong winds. The work is expected to be completed in October.

Parish church vicar the Rev Michael Hardy says: "We have had tremendous support from all of the folk who help out and keep supporting us, even though we are a rather small congregation."

The Rev Hardy says the spirit of parishioners is typified by a lady of 90 who has so far managed to find five sponsors. "The next job we are hoping to complete is the repairs to the stained glass windows," says the Rev Hardy.

The church would also like to lower the ornate font cover and clean it up to enable parishioners a closer look at the intricate carving.

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