WORK on Evesham's Abbey Bell Tower should get underway this spring after a fundraising appeal to make £500,000 nears an end.

The 16th century tower became the centre of the campaign in June 2013 following a brief closure of the building the previous year when parts of the old stone began to fall off.

Since then it has received the backing of the whole town, including the Journal, and a whopping £474,000 has been raised leaving £26,000 to go.

The money will be used to repair and conserve the tower, which is the all that remains following the dissolution of the Abbey in 1539.

Sue Ablett, the chairman of the campaign, said they were awaiting the go ahead to begin the conservation work.

She said: "All being well, we envisage the work starting in about April and being finished by November.

"At the moment, of our original target of £500k, we still need to raise about £26,000, a remarkable achievement in just 18 months.

"We are hopeful that we may be awarded some further funding from Wychavon New Homes Bonus this year and have a number of fundraising events planned over the next six months."

The work will be the biggest restoration work on the tower for more than 60 years and will repair extensive weather damage.

The project will also see methods to preserve the tower put in place.

But after the work is done there will still be fundraising to pay for the ongoing maintenance of the iconic Evesham building.

"Beyond that point we still expect to have a small number of fundraising events taking place to support ongoing maintenance of the Bell Tower," said Dr Ablett, who has taken part in lots of fundraising events herself, including running the London Marathon later this year.

"The Friends of Evesham Parish Church and Bell Tower have been in existence since 1977 and will continue to raise funds to enable essential work to be carried out after the major appeal is officially wound up."

If anyone would like to support the appeal or hold their own fundraising event, there is still plenty of time. To contact Dr Ablett email sueablett1@btinternet.com or call 07871285606.

And to sponsor Dr Ablett in the London Marathon visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SueAblett2.