An evening with South Oxfordshire MP Boris Johnson is the latest idea by Christchurch, Thame, to help raise the money it needs to finance modernisation work.

The £25-a-head tickets -- only 80 are available -- will allow buyers to listen to and meet Mr Johnson as both an MP and as a well-known raconteur.

The event is on March 26, at the Barns Centre, in Church Road.

Christchurch, in Upper High Street -- formed from a merger of the Methodists and Congregationalists into the United Reformed Church -- has planning permission for the project, expected to cost about £400,000.

A flight of stone steps in front of the building will be removed to provide easier access by the elderly and disabled, and there will be internal alterations as well.

Tenders have been invited from contractors and are due to be submitted by the start of next month.

Once they have been assessed, the exact cost of the project will be known for the first time. While work is being undertaken, Christchurch services will be held in the town hall.

Recent fundraising has brought in close to £2,000 and the church hopes to add another £4,000 with a gift day on February 29.