REPAIRS to a church wall which has been described as 'a threat to schoolchildren' have been completed.

A courtyard wall at the Holy Trinity Church in Halstead received the repairs after concerns were raised over the wall leaning.

The wall runs parallel to a public footpath which connects the A131 Trinity Street with the Holy Trinity Primary School and is regularly used as a shortcut by pupils and their parents.

As a result, the wall was labelled a potential danger by town councillors and "a daily threat to the safety of schoolchildren taking the shortcut."

The works had been in the pipeline for a number of months as the council organised surveyors and builders.

The wall was leaning due to a nearby lime tree on the church grounds.

Now, after work began last month, the wall has been completely repaired.

To mark the occasion, council bosses held a short ceremony despite the weather.

Halstead's mayor Mick Radley was in attendance along with surveyor Ed Morton, Aiden Fothergill of Bakers of Danbury, deputy mayor councillor Dave Gronland.

Mayor Radley said: “I’m really pleased that the council has taken action to conduct major repair work to the Holy Trinity Church boundary wall and to recognise the excellent work that has been done.

"The wall has been leaning for a number of years and the recent repair work has now strengthened the wall along its length to hold it in place.

"This work was conducted as part of the town council’s obligations to maintain closed churchyards and was funded from financial reserves specifically allocated to the work.

"Design work was commissioned to The Morton Partnership and the repair work to Bakers of Danbury Heritage Ltd.

"I would like to thank all of those involved with the repair for the excellent work they have done and with minimum disruption to the community.”