BELL ringers are letting Wormingford hear their joy as their church bell tower undergoes a revamp.

A £15,000 grant will help to give St Andrew's Church a toilet and kitchen area, as well as a new floor in the tower for a bell ringing area.

The money will go towards the £95,000 overall cost of the revamp, which the church is already over half way to reaching.

The grant was awarded by the Friends of Essex Churches Trust, to support church improvements.

Rosy Stamp, Secretary to Wormingford Parochial Church Council, said: “We raised over half the money in the community and we have applied for a number of other grants. We are very hopeful we will reach our target and people have been very kind.”

They have another £18,000 to raise to complete work on the bell tower, but are very pleased with the progress made.

Ms Stamp said: “When it’s done we really hope it will make the church more attractive for weddings and events.

“It’s to do with accessibility and welcoming people to the church. It would be nice to have the facilities for anyone to come and visit.”

The 12th Century church is renowned for its ancient bells, one of which was made by a woman in the 16th century, something Ms Stamp said would have been very unusual.

She said: “We have got some wonderful bells here and we have a wonderful bell ringing team.

“We are looking forward to starting work on the tower once we have all the money.”