VILLAGERS are celebrating after bells rang out across the Bride Valley after a two-year restoration project was completed.

The bells at St Mary's Church in Litton Cheney have been returned and installed following the community-funded project. St Mary’s Church's sixth bell, dating from 1656, and the eighth or tenor bell from 1470, required major surgery.

The cost was estimated to be around £20,000 and in the two years since the restoration appeal started, villagers have raised funding.

In September, the bells were removed by John Taylor and Co of Loughborough before being re-installed last month (Dec).

Restoration project manager John Salvetti, said: "In early October we received confirmation that there was a crack in the number six bell so the bell foundry had to send the bell off for specialist welding at Soundweld in Newmarket.

"After additional renovation work, both bells arrived back in Litton Cheney on December 15 and the installation and refurbishment work was completed on Friday, December 23."

He added: "The main cause for concern we had was how we were going to get the bells up the path to the church.

"To the rescue came Richard Hart of G & R General Builders Ltd. Richard had helped us to load the bells onto the transport lorry when they were taken out in September. This time he provided the machinery, not just to lift the bells off the lorry but also to push them up the path to the church – a task which would have required many more people than we had, if it had been done manually. "

Six other bells at the church were also due to be serviced. All of the runners and bearings were checked, while maintenance took place on the clappers.

Mr Salvetti added: "We had asked John Taylor to complete the work by Christmas so that we could ring for the festive ringing.

" The work was finished at lunchtime on Friday, December 23. The ringers rang all the bells in the morning of Christmas Eve and declared all was well.

"The band returned to the tower at 11pm to ring for the midnight service."