A DEDICATED bellringer has lovingly restored a well-known church tower clock to its former glory - just in time for his retirement.

It has been six years since the lights went out on All Saints Church clock face on Deansway, hiding the 119 year old timepiece from the city’s skyline at night.

But bellringer David Beacham – who has looked after the clock for more than 50 years – felt the time was right to install new LED lighting and a restart mechanism to ensure the hands keep ticking over.

Parishioners successfully secured a grant of £1,000 from the Bransford Trust and the parochial church council weighed in with £1,800 to help fund the repairs and illuminate the clock face for the first time since 2009.

Mr Beacham, 83, said fitting the new restart unit would enable the clock to automatically reset itself to the correct time after a powercut or daylight saving time.

The grandfather of five added: “It’s perfect timing in many ways as it means the clock can now take care of itself and I can finally retire from looking after it.

“Since 1964 I’ve had to clamber up the 95 steps to restart the clock every time there has been a powercut or even a thunderstorm which would stop it from ticking over. Now it should be able to take care of itself.”

The clock was installed by Smiths of Derby in 1897 and was originally hand-wound until an electrical drive was fitted in 1963.