A HAMPSHIRE church has proved so popular with young families that leaders are embarking on a £200,000 extension.

But to make that dream become a reality, it will involve building on part of the churchyard at St Paul’s Church, in Sarisbury Green, where a handful of 100-year-old graves currently stand.

So worshippers at the Barnes Lane Church are trying to hunt down any relatives of those graves so that they can be part of the process to move the gravestones.

The church insists that none of the graves will be moved – simply the headstones – with the new extension floated above the ground so no digging will be needed.

The need for the extension comes due to the increasing popularity of the church which is welcoming young families each week.

Over the past three years, the church has welcomed around 25 families every Monday for its underfives group and around a dozen parents with young babies come each Thursday morning for its under-twos group.

Having so many parents and young children in the building has highlighted the need for extra rooms and toilets.

The church wants to create an extension to the south of the existing building, which will provide two small meeting rooms, three extra toilets, an office, a kitchen and some storage space.

The £200,000 project, paid for by legacies left by former church members, will also include revamping the existing vestry.

The vicar of St Paul’s, the Rev Sandy Matheson, said: “There is no church hall, so everything we do happens in the church itself. This extension will give us the flexibility we need. We have no intention of moving any graves – just the headstones.

But if anyone comes forward who is related to the person buried there, we’d want to be sensitive to their feelings.”

The gravestones set to move have been identified as Elizabeth Jane Bunday, Beatrice Caroline Bunday and William George Bunday (1880, 1880 and 1881 in one grave), Amy Howard (1881), Ann and Edward Powell (1850 and 1860 in one grave), Martha Parsons (1877), William Osman (1872) and Elizabeth Russell (1865).

Call Phil Rutt on 01489 580562 before the end of May.