A STONEMASON'S thumb guard believed to be more than 100 years old has been found in St Luke's Church, Grimethorpe.
The guard was was found under flagstones in the church which were taken up after wet rot and dry rot were found in the Ladychapel.
Parish priest Fr Peter Needham said the guard was found by steward Trevor Wassell who had been examining the damage to the 1904 flagstones.
Fr Peter added: "It's still in one piece and was used to stop them getting blisters or sores when they were engineering."
Fr Peter discovered the fungus on the carpet on Thursday and the Ladychapel had to be dismantled.
He added: "It was heartbreaking. I was in tears when I saw it, I can't deny it. It looked like what can only be described as pizza. We took the carpet off and it was running towards the rest of the church. If we hadn't caught it it could have been a major disaster."
Fr Peter is now organising a 'gift day' to help recover the costs of removing of the rot and restoring the Ladychapel which was completed on Wednesday.
