Abbey fire repairs could cost £3m

The inside of the church was badly damaged

Part of a 900-year-old abbey badly damaged by fire could cost up to £3m and take three years to repair.

It took 30 firefighters to extinguish the blaze at St Mary's Church, in Abbeytown, Cumbria, on 9 June.

The roof of St Mary's, which was built in the 17th Century following a previous fire, was destroyed.

The site contains the remains of a former Cistercian abbey, founded in 1150. A 17-year-old youth has been charged with arson.

The church's Reverend David Tembey said: "A month on and there's a lot of anger.

"To me the worst thing is the needless destruction of this building. We had a funeral the morning before the fire and a lot of people told me how beautiful it looked."