A Royston church which provides food packages to families in need is being refurbished, with plans to turn it into a community hub.

Trinity Life Church has been established in the town for over 30 years, and in July last year purchased the old schoolhouse in Market Hill, Royston.

Since the church bought the building it has used it as the operations centre for the Make Lunch project - which delivers food packages to families in the school holidays who would normally receive free school meals.

The refurbishment - which started on Monday - involves putting in disabled access, including disabled toilets, from both the Market Hill and Fish Hill entrances. There are also plans to install a fully-functioning kitchen and to update the back meeting room to run other projects and services for the community.

The front meeting hall can be used as a drop-in or large group meeting space, with plans to start a toddler group there in the new year.

Cate Hall, co-leader of the church, said: "The total cost of the works is around £125k, so that was a huge goal to reach but we have now managed to raise all the necessary funds to get going.

"We would like to say a massive thank you to all who have supported us."

Science and engineering company Johnson Matthey have partnered with the church on the Make Lunch project, and covered the cost of installing the new kitchen.

Jayne Foster, Johnson Matthey's site and community liaison officer, said: "Johnson Matthey are delighted to help secure the future of Make Lunch and we are excited that the kitchen will be used to support other community projects which are needed in Royston.

"Services like Make Lunch are essential and having a fixed base will make it easier for everyone involved."

The church also received a grant from the Brian Leslie Reacher Trust, a £50,000 capital funding grant from North Herts Council and £4,500 from All Churches Trust, with the rest of the costs met through gifts from church members and church funds.

Cate said: "We are very grateful and extend our sincere appreciation to all who have donated to enable this vital work to go ahead."

The works are expected to be completed by February 2022.