Grants to carry out urgent repairs at 15 churches have been made by the Norfolk Churches Trust.

It has awarded a total of £74,000 including three grants of £10,000 each to churches at Blickling, near Aylsham; Little Cressingham, near Swaffham and Beeston-next-Mileham, near Dereham.

The trust has highlighted the estimated £12.7m needed for repairs at more than 50 churches across the county at its latest quarterly meeting.

The grant to St Andrew's Church, Blickling, will help towards the £60,000 needed for repairing the roof following the lead theft in 2016.

In mid-Norfolk, the grade I-listed landmark church of St Mary the Virgin, at Beeston-next-Mileham needs to spend almost £250,000 in repairing the tower and its distinctive spire.

And St Andrew, Little Cressingham faces a bill for almost £90,000 for roof, window and flint work repairs.

The trust, which gave a total of £182,000 last year to 48 parishes, made two major awards in west Norfolk.

It has given a grant of £9,000 to St Mary's, West Walton, for urgent repairs of cracks and falling masonry at the west end of church. Outwell's St Clement parish church will receive £8,000 for stained glass repairs to the Beaupre and Fincham chapels as part of a £79,000 restoration programme.

North Elmham's parish church of St Mary has been awarded £7,000 towards repairs of the south transept, leading, timber and masonry work.

Two churches each receive £5,000 - Morston, All Saints £5,000 Conservation of painted tympanum, dated 1823 and St Peter & Paul, Swaffham, towards restoration of the William Wailes stained glass window.

The following churches were each awarded £2,000 - North Wootton, All Saints for repairs to the stained glass windows;

Norwich, St John Sepulchre £2,000 repairs to transept and vestry and Swanton Abbott, St Michael for drainage works.

£2,000 drainage, rainwater goods etc

Four churches each received £1,000 - St Andrew, Bacton; Forncett, St Peter; Pentney, St Mary Magdalene £1,000 for roof repairs and Thetford, Baptist Church.

The latest annual Bike Ride, which has raised more than £2.6m since its inception, has made a total of £83,794 to date, said organiser Charlie Inglis. With more funds still to be paid out, he hopes that it could come close towards £100,000.