A PRICELESS stained glass window at risk of collapsing will be carefully dismantled within weeks.

A PRICELESS stained glass window at risk of collapsing will be carefully dismantled within weeks.

But the 20ft work of art at a Glasgow West End church will have to remain in storage until around £68,000 is found to restore it.

The Evening Times told last year how the stunning window in the A-listed Lansdowne Parish Church, in Great Western Road, was desperately in need of repair.

Now the Pilgrim Trust, an American organisation, has provided £15,000 to cover the cost of removing the window, which is made up of thousands of tiny pieces of glass.

The Four Acres Trust, which runs the Cottier Theatre complex, wants to buy the building from the Church of Scotland, restore it and turn it into a bar, restaurant and theatre. The theatre would double as a meeting place for Sunday church services.

Restoring the church, which has the tallest spire in Glasgow, could cost up to £4million.

Four Acres director David Robertson said: "The window will be dismantled step by step by conservators from the top down in a process that will be carefully recorded and photographed.

"The window is supported only by its own weight, so we will all be pleased when it is safely down."

It is expected scaffolding will go up at the end of the month and taking down the panels will begin shortly after.

The Pilgrim Trust has provided a further £10,000 towards the cost of investigating the condition of the fabric of the church, the Architectural Heritage Fund has offered a loan of £25,000 and it is hoped the Heritage Lottery Fund will provide a further £50,000.

That cash would allow the necessary preparation work needed for a bid for £2m of National Lottery cash. It is hoped Historic Scotland and other trusts would provide the remainder.

A fund was launched this week to raise cash for the windows' restoration and Mr Robertson said he was more optimistic the trust would be able to raise the money for the full restoration.

Lansdowne minister, the Reverend Roy Henderson, said: "I am hugely relieved and excited the window will be coming down because we have been worried for years about what was going to happen to it."

Stained glass conservators Rab MacInnes and Linda Cannon will take the window down and their first task will be to work out how to remove the heavy glass panels.

Linda said: "I have been doing this job for 30 years and have not seen a construction method like it.

"It is a very complicated job because the window is huge, heavy, and badly buckled. However, it is a privilege to be working on it because of its beauty and importance."