A HOMELESS charity celebrated its 30th anniversary in a "poignant" fashion by ringing the bells of Worcester Cathedral 30 times.

Mel Kirk, service manager at Maggs Day Centre, which was set up on December 21, 1985, was given the bell ringing duties yesterday to mark the milestone.

Worcester News:

She said: "It was a really fitting way to commemorate 30 years of Maggs Day Centre.

"Each ring represented a year in the life of the charity and all of the people we supported in that year.

"It was a real honour and privilege to ring the bells and it was quite a poignant moment."

The charity manager has been learning bell ringing since September under the guidance of tutor Saskia Frisby - but this was her debut performance at Worcester Cathedral.

She said the experience was "petrifying yet exhilarating" and that she felt a "great sense of achievement" after mastering the tricky technique to send out the celebratory chimes across the city.

Miss Kirk, who has worked at Maggs Day Centre for 12 and a half years, added: "The act of ringing the cathedral bells also solidified the partnership between our homeless charity and the cathedral.

"We have strong links and the cathedral gives us so much support.

"This has been a great way to strengthen that partnership."

Maggs Day Centre was open for just one day a week back in 1985, but it has grown significantly over the years.

It now runs a day centre, activity centre, health hub and clothing project, is open Sunday to Thursday and supports more than 600 homeless people a year.

But the charity is looking forward as well as back.

"In an ideal world there would be no need for a Maggs Day Centre", added Ms Kirk.

"Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world and therefore we have plans to improve our service in the future.

"We are hoping to launch a befriending project and mental health drop-in scheme in 2016."

For more details visit maggsdaycentre.co.uk