AN urgent appeal by St Mark’s Church for funds to restore its 100-year-old pipe organ ‘Emily’ has passed the £5,000 mark.

The Upper Hale church launched the appeal in December to raise the £23,000 needed for a complete refurbishment of its organ, affectionately named after its original benefactor Emily Mangles.

So far £5,300 has been raised, boosted by the generosity of local businesses – The Albion pub and Specsavers have both generously helped the appeal, which is one of Specsavers’ 20 charities to support this year.

Reverend Lesley Crawley said: “I am so encouraged by the generosity of these local businesses, it feels like a real community effort to get Emily back on her feet.

“We do have a long way to go but raising £5,300 is so encouraging and I’m sure we’ll get there!”