PARISHIONERS who prayed for some divine intervention to save their knees from their church floor had their call answered by their own community.

Thanks to the nimble fingers of tapestry lovers in Chipping, including one man, the congregation at St Bartholomew's Church will no longer have to suffer the flagged floor to bear their weight after prayers.

Joiner Stephen Wallbank helped make the church soft kneelers, including an 18ft five-section alter kneeler, to scatter throughout the pews.

In total around 260 kneelers have been created by a wide circle of people, with Stephen alone being responsible for 50 of them.

He has lost count of the number of hours he was spent making his tapestry creations, but knows the alter kneeler took 2,000 hours and a phenomenal number of half-cross stitches.

He says that while tapestry is regarded as an unusual pastime for a man, it has never bothered Stephen.

"I began making them as a youngster just to see if I liked doing them. My first creation was a nine-inch picture of a little owl. Just big enough to finish if I didn't like it."

That was 37 years ago when he was just 10, and he obviously did enjoy doing them having created dozens since.

He still has the picture of the owl 'somewhere' and has many others dotted around his parents' house at Ferry Butts.

Some of the tapestries he has made have been given as presents, but the others, such as those made into knee cushions now grace the church.

"We are extremely grateful to Stephen for his time and effort in making all those kneelers. They really are very beautiful and should be seen to be appreciated," said vicar of the church Red Arthur Siddall.

The topics used by all those involved in the creation of the kneelers vary enormously. Some bear religious scenes while others have pictures of flowers and animals on them. Others have been created to reflect the history of the village and show scenes and buildings.

In all, tMore than anything it is the commitment of time from people which has resulted in providing the church with these beautiful items and I am extremely grateful to everyone who has taken part," said Rev Siddall.