A FIRE at a village church caused damage amounting to more than £100,000 at the weekend. The fire at Lansallos church, near Looe, brought tears to the eyes of many parishioners on Saturday afternoon – but it has not stopped services continuing on the site. The grade one listed church lost 40 per cent of its roof due to the fire, which is believed to have started behind the church's organ, and parts of the interior were also damaged. Fire crews from Looe, Liskeard, Saltash, Polruan and Lostwithiel fought the fire for more than six hours to bring it under control. The firefighters arrived at the scene just before 5pm and the scene was scaled down at 10.30pm with some firefighters staying at the church overnight, providing cover in case the fire started up again. A number of windows had to be knocked through to let in hose pipes and there is extensive smoke and water damage throughout the building. The church organ was destroyed, but the tower and the bells appear to be unaffected. The church's medieval pews, which have carvings dating from between 1490 and 1520, were pushed to one side and only a few suffered scorching. The rural dean, the Rev Gill Lonsdale who is currently responsible for the church, said: 'There's been a lot of tears over the fire with people who were baptised or married at the church wondering whether it will be still there for them in the future.' 'But since Saturday we've had a very positive response. The little room where we held our services on Sunday was packed out and the number of people attending in both the morning and in the afternoon was higher than usual. I would like to thank the fire service for their quick response to the fire. 'They were great – they were very respectful of the fire being in a church and did their best not to trample on graves.' While services have been moved to the nearby Sunday School room, the church roof will get some make-shift repairs until it is decided what will be done next. The Archdeacon of Bodmin, the Ven Clive Cohen, attended the worship in the Sunday School room last Sunday, and said: 'It is always sad when a church is damaged. 'Nevertheless, amongst the sadness, there is thankfulness: thankfulness for the dedicated and skilled work of the firefighters; thankfulness for the support of the community; and thankfulness that no-one was hurt.' The church suffered a lot during the 20th century. In both 1923 and 1975 the tower was struck by lightening. The church was also hit by shrapnel in 1941 during combat between British and German planes and had its organ destroyed by fire in July 1949.

FOUR teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire on Sunday afternoon . A 16-year-old boy from Looe and 14-year-old boys from Truro and Fowey have been released on police bail to appear at Charles Cross Police station next month. The fourth boy, a 14-year-old from Looe, has also been released and no action will be taken against him.