Hundreds of pounds donated to flooded Wednesbury church hit by £100k repairs
Hundreds of pounds have been donated to an historic church that was damaged from flooding after 10 million litres of water swept through the street outside it.
Water reached up to 2ft in Lea Brook Methodist Church when a digger burst a water main right outside in Leabrook Road North, Wednesbury, last Thursday.
The extent of the damage to the church is not clear yet but two fundraising pages have been set up on GoFundMe and Facebook to help cover the costs of repairs which have raised over £350.
Church boss, Reverend Trevor Pratt, aged 67, expects the cost of repairs to be over £100,000 and says the donations are 'encouraging'.
He said: "It is encouraging that people want to support and give help.
"I think you begin to realise what a steep hill we have to travel and the patience with which we have to do it.
"It is going to be a long haul with months of work ahead of us rather than weeks.
"It is a question of drying out and replacing the plaster where that has been affected along with other work.
"We are waiting for professionals to come get their teeth into it so we do not know for sure on price yet but it will be well over £100,000.
"People have been very encouraging and we have had a lot of offers to help and of support.
"The insurance company have been very cooperative and helpful so overall it has been quite positive.
"The groups are going to neighbouring churches and we have had quite a few offers of hospitality which is encouraging.
"They have been very good in making us welcome."
The church is used by groups including Slimming World, Scouts, Brownies and an over 60's club but they will be held at different venues in the meantime.
The street was submerged in water after a Western Power Distribution digger hit the pipe and nearby parked cars were damaged.
Emergency services pumped the water from the road into the nearby canal.
The pipe has since been fixed by South Staffs Water and the road has been reopened.
He added: "It is about accepting part in parcel of what life can throw at you but I am glad that none of the houses on the road were badly affected because it could have been so much worse and thankfully no one was badly injured.
"It is all still quite unbelievable and a bit of a dream.
"There are real signs of bereavement but also of hope and determination to come out of this the other end."
Gardens, homes and businesses were all affected by last week's flood and a stretch of the A41 Black Country New Road was closed after water damaged the road surface.
Donations can be made by visiting www.gofundme.com/leabrookchurch or this Facebook page
