AN ancient Scottish church containing "remarkable" national treasures is to be put up for sale, stripped of its contents and probably turned into luxury flats unless funds can be found to secure its future.

Campaigners desperate to save Benholm Kirk, about 30 miles south of Aberdeen, are to hold a public meeting in the Kincardine hamlet on Saturday to rally support for the church.

Benholm Kirk's origins date back to 1242, although the present structure dates from the 19th century. But it is the unique, enigmatic stone carvings within the kirk that are generating the most interest among ecclesiastical and architectural experts.

Of particular note is the Keith Monument of 1621, a 2.5 metre-tall sandstone carving covered in cryptic references to death, fertility, power and the monarchy, which has so far eluded full interpretation.

Local historian Donald Macpherson has deduced that the monument was commissioned by George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal, King James VI's Lord High Commissioner of Scotland and founder of Aberdeen's Marischal College.

It is thought to be a memorial to his daughter Mary, who died aged four, and a grave marker for the whole family.

Victoria Collison-Owen, director of the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust leading the campaign, urged everyone concerned about Benholm's fate to attend the meeting.

He said: "We are losing our heritage by stealth, but at Benholm Kirk there is a chance for it to be saved if people only show their support and concern."

www. srct. org. uk