A CHURCH under fire from pigeons has had its prayers answered, by famous steeplejack Fred Dibnah.

Members of St Saviour's Church, Bamber Bridge, had become concerned about the number of pigeons in the bell tower of their church, making a terrible mess.

So vicar, Rev Tom Barnes, decided to call in dare-devil Fred Dibnah to solve the problem.

Fred, who has become legendary for his chimney stack felling, climbed into the spire at the Church Road place of worship to take a look at the problem, before workers could think of a way of evict the birds for good.

Rev Barnes said: "Now that the ladders have been put up, grilles will be put in place on the steeple to make sure that the pigeons can't get inside and cause a mess.

"We chose Fred for this job because he has already done some work on the bell."

Work on the point of the tower will also be carried out while Fred's ladders are in place. Church bosses believe the cost of the work could be more than £3,000.

But while one family of birds is preparing to leave the steeple, another bird could be flying in. It is hoped that the church will be able to buy a weathervane for the tower.

Churchwarden George Davies added: "The weathervane would cost around £2,000 because it is made from copper and brass so we are not sure whether we will able to get it or not yet."

Much of the work is being funded by donations, with money from fund-raising events being used as well.

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