CHURCHES in Droitwich have been taking part in National Maintenance Week.

The campaign, which runs from November 21 to 28, encourages owners of buildings to be aware of the importance of regular care, and churchgoers in the Worcestershire town have taken the message on board.

Volunteers have surveyed three churches and carried out basic gutter clearing jobs, and hope their efforts will help with the long-term maintenance of the buildings.

TV personality Loyd Grossman is fronting National Maintenance Week, which is run by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

He said: “As chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust, I’m already very familiar with the maintenance challenges faced by significant, historic buildings which don’t conform to a standard pattern.

“Careful, planned and regular maintenance is vital to ensure that they have a future as well as a past.

“But that message is equally applicable to buildings of all types and all ages.

“Good maintenance is simply good common sense. It’s economic sense too.

“Faulty gutters and blocked drains don't mend themselves - the longer you ignore a problem the more costly and difficult it becomes to put it right, and that’s true if the building you care for is a medieval church in a village or an apartment in a town or city.”

The campaign ends on Friday, November 28, with National Gutters Day – a gentle, light-hearted reminder for everyone to take 10 minutes to make a simple check on the condition of any property they care for.