England's wonkiest church - dubbed 'Britain's answer to The Leaning Tower of Pisa' - is in need of £100,000-worth of repairs to save it from crumbling.

The spire on the 12th century building in the village of Dry Doddington, Lincolnshire, famously angles at 5.1 degrees, giving it its signature tilting look.

But the church ward, Richard Loynes, has now lamented its deterioration - saying 'I wish we had the same level of funding as the Leaning Tower of Pisa'.

St James' Church was built originally as a 'Chapel of Ease' for older residents, so they didn't have to walk to a neighbouring village.

The tower, dating from the 14th century, is believed to have first shifted in the late 19th century and was underpinned in 1918 to prevent it from tilting any further.

Mr Loynes said: 'The church is very much part of the village and we're proud of its uniqueness.

'I wish we had the same levels of funding as the Leaning Tower of Pisa however - but that's not the case and we need help.

'I'm off to Italy with the wife soon and will be visiting Pisa so I perhaps need to get speaking to them to see what the secret is.'

Mr Loynes has now set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise money for the repairs. 

The warden admitted 'we would never want to lose the crookedness of the spire' - explaining it was believed the tilt existed due to the building being on a 'big heap of clay, which can get either very wet or very dry and when it's dry it shrinks'.

He added: 'The church has no foundations and was just plonked on earth. It was underpinned to make sure it doesn't move any more.

'We think that is the most likely cause but some have said it could be on a burial ground too.'

However, Mr Loynes was assured the church is fully stable - adding the intention is 'not to correct the lean as that is what helps make the tower and church so special'.

The tower was previously in danger of collapse in 2015 as the stones were eroding.

Around £100,000-worth of work was undertaken to save it but since then other parts of the building have deteriorated, including the floor.

Now the tower is in danger once more as the wooden church floor has deteriorated and the stone slabs have moved.

Mr Loynes said: 'The floor is now also rather wonky after it sunk and slabs and slates have cracked and moved too.

'We still have services but warn people about the wonky floor, so we need it replacing really for the safety of parishioners.

'As with hundreds of churches we need to raise funds, but we're as bad, if not worse than most due to having the wonky floor.

'We are turning to the public for help.'

He said the £100,000 would be used to fix the floor, replaster some of the walls and to upgrade the electricity - 'as we only have one plug'.

One villager, Thomas Ratledge said: 'We like to think of it as Britain's answer to The Leaning Tower of Pisa and such a historic church deserves to be saved.

'If the floor and walls get any worse than we worry for its future but we are confident and hopeful it will be protected for generations to come.

'It is a building with such unique character and is a focal point for the community all year round.'