CHURCH leaders in Great Harwood are appealing for relatives of those buried in one of its graveyards to contact them in a bid to kickstart regeneration plans.

The parish church of St Bartholomew's dates back to the 1300s, and features two graveyards. After becoming full the church's original cemetery was closed.

An extension graveyard, in Hope Street, was built, but church bosses are struggling to keep the facility tidy, and are hoping to get permission to make changes to the site.

It is hoped any proposals will be supported by relatives of the deceased, who are now being urged to contact the church to help.

David Harrison, who has been connected to the church for decades, and is spearheading the drive to rejuvenate the graveyard, said: "The graveyard is of concern to the church. We've had one or two ideas for improving the look of it and making it better, this may mean that certain head stones and things like that may need to be moved.

"Anything like that would need the approval of the diocese authority. But if we have the backing of the relatives it may make things easier."

The church itself was built in the 1300s, and is a Grade Two listed building. When the church's original graveyard became full, an order officially signed by the Queen closed the site, and handed responsibility for maintenance to Hyndburn Council.

But even with about 2,000 people buried within its walls, the extension graveyard, the Hope Street cemetery, is not full and is still the church's responsibility to look after.

However a lack of volunteers and problems with the notorious Japanese knotweed plant has made the task a problem for church administrators.

Mr Harrison said: "The problem is more to do with the maintenance of the church yard. In a sense it has fallen into disrepair over the years because of a financial situation affecting every church.

"It's a question of finding as many people as we can who have relatives buried in there."

To help call Mr Harrison on 01254 887464.