MEMBERS of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Bolton are furious because they still have to “pay to pray”.

The Bolton News reported last month that the group, which meets on Sundays at the church in All Saints Street, were angry about being charged £1 to park in their usual spots at the bottom of the street.

The problem was caused by NCP, which owns the car park, deciding to extend the charging time to include Sundays.

A church member claims he has tried to contact NCP several times without receiving a response. But the firm’s Bolton contract manager, Mark Wilkinson, said he received no contact until recently.

Mr Wilkinson said: “I think there’s been a mix-up with communications because I didn’t receive any message until I recently was passed something from customer services — and that was fairly unclear.

“But I am more than willing to meet with the group and discuss the problems they are having — I will call them today.”

The church has been in operation since 1967 and members have not previously been charged to park in the nearby car parks.

There are 30 to 50 people that meet at the church each Sunday, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s.

Chruch member Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, aged 59, said: ”I have sent two emails and heard no response. I had hoped for them to get back in touch with me quickly — it feels a bit as though we are being snubbed.

“We know that another church in the area has come to an agreement about the car parks and we want to do the same.”

The first generation of Ukrainians in Bolton arrived in the 1940s and included Mr Tymchyshyn’s father, Mychajlo.

Mr Tymchyshyn said his father and others were forced to flee their country as they had fought against the Red Army during the Second World War and would have faced the wrath of Joseph Stalin had they stayed.

He added: “They would have been put against a wall and shot, so they had to leave and they came to Bolton.”