A CHURCH bell, weighing three quarters of a ton, will cost churchgoers in Madresfield £25,000 to repair after it fell from its moorings.

Church officials this week were told the cost of the incident, which happened at the end of June as bell ringers were ringing in a service.

The 150-year-old tenor bell, one of six at the church, came adrift from its bearings and crashed down the bell tower, becoming jammed on the frame causing extensive damage. Only the reinforced beams of the floor stopped it crashing through the ceiling on top of the bell ringers.

The bottom half of the bell wheel was completely smashed. After inspection it emerged that the gudgeon, a steel rod running into the ball bearing, had sheered through. The bearings date from 1929, when the bells were last restored. A similar incident occurred at the church in the late 1940s.

"The bells are currently unringable," said Reverend David Nichol, vicar of the church. "Fortunately the beams are fairly substantial so they held it in place so it didn't come through the ceiling."

Rev Nichol said that because some of the other bells may also have weaknesses, it could cost £25,000 to return all six back to safe working order. The damage means that the clock will not chime

He added that fundraising ideas were being put together for a drive in the autumn, together with applications for funding from charities.