THE long wait to hear the bells ring again at a Worcester church could soon be coming to an end thanks to the generosity of hundreds of fund-raisers.

After nearly two years of fund-raising, work is due to begin on restoring the bell tower at John-in-Bedwardine Church, St John’s, to its former glory.

The church has raised £200,000 to pay for the work to repair damage caused by an infestation of death watch beetle.

Philip Evans, the tower appeal assistant treasurer, said: “I’m very excited that the work is finally getting under way and I look forward to hearing the bells ringing again.”

Repairs are scheduled to begin today and are expected to last until mid-June. However the full extent of the damage will not be learnt until work has begun.

The work will focus on replacing the wooden beams that were damaged by the beetles with new metal beams. It is hoped that the infestation will disappear with the damaged beams and the refurbished area will be kept as dry as possible to avoid a repeat.

The appeal recently received a £50,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Your Heritage scheme.

The sum is the maximum amount available and was awarded in recognition of the dedication, hard work and fund-raising ability of the volunteers.

A £40,000 grant was given by English Heritage, along with money from a range of local organisations and more than 400 personal donations.

In total almost all of the £200,000 needed for the work has been raised.

The church will still accept donations to cover the shortfall and provide a fund to deal with any unseen costs.

The church hopes that any disruption to visitors and services caused by the work will be kept to a minimum.

Death watch beetles are less than a centimetre in length and are a serious threat to older buildings due to their ability to bore through wood.

Their name comes from the tapping sound they make to attract a mate, which can be heard on quiet nights and so have become associated with the vigil kept over the dying.

To follow the progress of the work, visit stjohninbedwardine.co.uk/appeal.html.