February 7, 2001 11:49: MUSLIMS in Chesham are pressing ahead to raise enough cash to build a new purpose-built mosque.

The present mosque on Bellingdon Road is contained into two specially converted houses.

But in recent years the Muslim community has simply outgrown the site and religious leaders are desperate to move.

Imam Arif Hussain Saeedi said: "Our present mosque is just not big enough for us. There is not enough room.

"At the moment there's no room for women in the mosque. We need to provide a place for women to pray in a new mosque."

Chesham's Muslims have already purchased a former factory site opposite the present mosque in Bellingdon Road.

The Chesham community hopes to have raised the £1 million it needs to build a new mosque in the near future, with the help of other Muslims in towns and cities around Britain.

Cllr Bhatti also explained that Muslims in Chesham need another place apart from the mosque to house other community events.

He said: "At the moment we have no proper place we can go apart from the mosque. What the community needs to have is some sort of common place to meet and hold events and meet educational needs.

"We use the mosque at the moment but really it should be for prayer."