CHURCH bosses have carried out emergency repair work after discovering their own version of a major tourist attraction -- the Leaning Tower of Great Harwood!

The 117ft bell tower and spire at Our Lady and St Hubert's RC Church, Great Harwood, was found to be crooked after surveyors were called in to look at the grade two listed building.

And just like its famous counterpart in Pisa, Italy, it was in danger of getting worse until architects were called in to solve the problem.

They also discovered that the roof needed essential work if the church was to remain in use, and after a scramble for cash, national charity English Heritage came to the rescue with a £308,000 grant.

Work started under an all-weather tent last October.

And today the church's cross was due to be returned to the spire after being lowered by 20ft and having a new steel frame inserted in the stonework.

The rest of the work on the roof will be finished by October but it will not affect up to ten services a week at the church.

Father Anthony McLaughlin, said they first noticed that work needed doing in 1999. "It wasn't something that was apparent suddenly but it became apparent after the surveyors pointed it out.

"If we didn't do something to stop it, it would have got worse, but I don't believe it would have collapsed or anything dramatic like that."

The church was built between 1853 and 1859 in the Gothic style to accommodate the cotton town's growing population and remains a rare example of a mill town church. It was designed by Victorian architect E W Pugin and houses several statues in the spire, including a hunting hound put up in memory of St Hubert, the patron saint of hunting.

Henry Owen-John, English Heritage's Assistant Regional Director, said: "The church has the potential to become a visitor attraction in its own right but for some time has been showing signs of age.

"English Heritage is delighted to be able to make a substantial contribution to the repair work, not least because in recent years the congregation has been on the increase again."

Andrew Kepczyk, of Manchester architects Lloyd Evans Prichard, said: "We noticed a slight lean when we carried out a condition inspection and were shocked to find a gap where light was showing around the top.

"You could call it a lean but it was more of a twist really."

"The sheer weight of the stone made it unlikely that the spire would collapse but metal reinforcement within the masonry had rusted and was causing damage.

"It was clearly desirable that we should straighten the spire at the same time as we repaired the roof."

The grant came from the Repair Grants Scheme for Places of Worship, jointly funded by English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

English Heritage is an independent body that is funded by the government and works with the Department for Culture Media and Sport to protect the country's heritage sites.