Bells of village church chime once more after decades gathering dust

• Video report by Fiona Marley Patterson

After years of gathering dust, the bells of St Anne's Church near Windermere can chime once more.

It's the perfect Christmas gift for the village of Ings after enough money was raised to restore both the Grade II* Georgian church and its bell tower.

Tower Captain & Bell Adviser, Ron East told ITV Border: "It's just a great part of the church tradition to ring bells, to call people to prayer but also of course how could you possibly have a wedding in a church without bells?

"They're rung in celebration, we ring them at the Cathedral in times of civic events like Remembrance Day, VJ Day, VE Day, really just to celebrate events, so I think they're really an important part of church worship, of the history too of this country.

"Church bells have been embedded in the history for the last 1400 years."

The last time the bells were rung in living memory was in 2009 when some enthusiasts came across to South Cumbria from the north east and asked permission to ring the bells.

But they confirmed what the church already feared: that the bell tower was no longer strong enough to take the weight.

The community spent years renovating the church, until one man quietly donated the money to fix the bell tower.

"We're actually quite proud. We're a small community and we've managed to do it", said joiner Joe Gillett.