MEMBERS of a Baptist Church are celebrating after its building fund swelled by £2,000 in just one week.

Weir Baptist Church celebrated its first anniversary by holding a gift day when £1,000 was raised while people enjoyed tea and cakes, and an anonymous donation of £1,000 was also received.

Former Minister of Weir Doals Baptist Chapel the Rev David Jackson led a congregation of nearly 50 people at Northern Primary School in Burnley Road for the anniversary.

And the celebrations continued with a church barbecue in the grounds of Old Wesley Hall, the home of a church member.

Minister the Rev Neil Hepworth said: "It has been a weekend of great encouragement to us, and we believe there will be many more anniversaries to celebrate in the future. Weir Baptist Church -- with God's help -- is here to stay."

The church is hoping to develop a building on the site of the former Doals church in Burnley Road which was demolished in 1996 after it was found to have dry rot.