A PRESTWICH churchyard is set to blossom after a generous donation from the Yorkshire Building Society.

St Mary's Action Group received £240 from the building society's Community Investment Fund to plant new trees in St Mary's CE Church grave yard.

For the past few months, the action group has been tidying up the church grounds, in Church Lane, Prestwich, by clearing away weeds, overgrown brambles and rubbish.

During one of the action days, which have proved to be popular with local residents and church members, volunteers discovered a group of diseased trees down at the bottom of the grave yard.

Chairman of the action group, Bill Cottam, said: "We are very pleased to receive this money. As a result, we intend to chop down the diseased trees and replace them elsewhere in the church grounds with a selection of silver birch, maple and beech trees. The new location will mean more people can see them and enjoy them."

As a member of the Bury branch of the Yorkshire Building Society, Mr Cottam saw a poster for the community investment fund and applied for a grant.

Claire Ashworth, manager of The Rock branch said: "We are delighted that we are able to help St Mary's to restore the grounds of this historical building. As a building society we encourage people to invest in things that grow, and the trees of St Mary's will be enjoyed by generations."