A company has offered to repair the roof of a 12th century church which was vandalised by a group of boys.

All Roofs UK will be fixing the tiles on St Helen's in Cliffe which were damaged along with seven windows on Easter Monday.

The boys, thought to be as young as 11 and 12, were caught on camera climbing on the roof and throwing stones at stained glass windows.

Tiles were also pulled from the roof of the church's boiler room and the Victorian Charnel House in the corner of the churchyard.

The cost of the damage is expected to run into thousands and Rev Jill Wright, associate minister at the church, feared it could take months.

But after seeing the news on KentOnline, Sittingbourne roofing firm All Roofs UK has stepped in to repair some of the damage.

Company boss Lee Austin says they can fix the roof for free, so the church can concentrate on getting the windows repaired.

He said: "We do a lot of this kind of work and have carried out repairs at quite a few churches in the area.

"We can do the job, and make sure it is done properly."

A surveyor from All Roofs UK was due to visit the church on Friday afternoon to assess the damage and find out what needs to be done.

Lee added: "These types of tiles are the most expensive roof tiles you can get.

"And what these kids probably don't realise is that if you break one tile you have probably broken the one underneath as well. So it can cost a lot of money to repair a small area."

It is not the first time Lee has offered his help after vandals have damaged a historic building.

In 2018, his previous company carried out £4,000 of repairs at Fort Amherst in Chatham after vandals broke into the Napoleonic site.

Lee also helped a Strood couple who were conned by fraudsters in 2020, getting other tradesmen on board and raising the funds to repair their roof.

Lee said: "If I see something and I can help, then I will."

Speaking earlier this week, church warden Rob Thompson said the roof to boiler room would need to be fixed as soon as possible to stop the rain getting in.

He added: "The tiles and the windows are going to cost an awful lot to repair, it is not going to be cheap."

After footage of the vandalism was shared online, one of the parents of the boys came forward, saying what his son did was "inexcusable" but said his family are not "scum".

Meanwhile, the mother of two of the other boys involved had visited the church warden with her sons to apologise.