AN APPEAL has been launched to revamp a major Jewish cemetery.

Rainsough Jewish Cemetery, off Butterstile Lane, was opened in 1912 by the well-known Laski family and is the burial ground for a number of prominent Jews.

The grave of local Jewish leader Abraham Moss, is there, along with more than 1,500 other graves.

However, the cemetery has been neglected and allowed to go into a serious state of decline. In recent years it has also been a target for vandals.

To address the problems, the Rainsough Charitable Trust was formed and the trustees have now launched an appeal for £100,000 to restore the amenity.

Around £60,000 has already been pledged, but the remainder has got to be raised for work to start next April. The aim is to landscape the area at the front of the cemetery to form a garden and to demolish the top ohel (prayer hall).

The remaining ohel will be improved, along with adjacent washing facilities, and further support is needed to finance ongoing maintenance work.

Joint chairman of the Trust, Mr Jack Livingstone, whose daughter Joanna is buried at Rainsough, said: The cemetery is quite an emotional place to go to and it is sad to see its condition get worse. A fair number of Jewish cemeteries in Manchester are suffering the same neglect and if we can improve Rainsough then it might spur work on others.

Fellow chairman Eric Abrams added: We want to make everyone aware that we are fundraising and have had brochures printed to distribute to synagogues. We have already had donations from far and wide, but we also need to stress that donations from as little as £10 can help with the ongoing maintenance.

For details of how to help, contact Mr Livingstone at jackandjan@btinternet.com or call 0161 928 3232, or Mr Abrams at eabrams333@aol.com or call 0161 980 1466.