THE family of a woman killed by falling masonry from a church during storms three years ago yesterday called for changes to the way the safety of historic buildings is checked.

Debra Exton, 45, of Loughborough, died from severe head injuries after a 55lb lump of stone broke off from the roof of All Saints' Church, York, and fell 35ft to the pavement.

An inquest into her death heard that part of the same stone pinnacle collapsed and was restored nine years previously, and that the structure had appeared in "exemplary" condition at the time of the church's last inspection which took place four years before the tragedy in January 2002.

Following a jury's unanimous verdict of accidental death, Miss Exton's 25-year-old son, Mark Shortland, paid tribute to a "kind and caring" mother.

Standing alongside Miss Exton's tearful mother, Norma, and her brother, Paul, Mr Shortland said: "We understand the people involved in maintaining this building have learnt from this tragic accident and we now hope measures are taken across the country to ensure that something as terrible as this can never happen again.

"Churches should be inspected far more often and the process much more thorough."