FRIENDS of St Michael and All Angels church in Linton have folded after ten years having helped fund work at the church amounting to £17,000.

The group has raised money to pay towards seat pads for pews, the installation of security cameras, the replacement of the church path and stone flagged area around the church at a cost of £7,500, the provision of noticeboards on the church gates and four radio microphones, as well as minor repairs to the building.

A Friends spokesman said something in excess of £17,000 had been spent on the church, and all remaining funds will be donated to the church, by which time the charity's contribution in cash or work done will amount to £40,000.

Thanks to subscriptions set at £10 a year and a number of generous donations, the Friends were able to pay for two big projects in their first two years.

The first was the replacement of a framed list of all the rectors of the parish from 1229 to 2004, which had been hanging in the church for as long as anyone could remember.

When it was updated in 2004, the vulnerable piece of history was in such poor condition that it was likely to disintegrate if disturbed.

Two framed lists were prepared by a professional calligrapher, one covering the years to 1850 and the other covering up to the present day, with space for future additions. The total cost was £866 and they were hung in St Michael's in early 2008.