THE historic Bells of St Peter’s Church will be heard again by the people of Stanway after two years of silence.

In 2014 the bells, which had rung out over the Cotswolds for more than 350 years, fell silent after being deemed unsafe.

They were winched down through the tower to be tuned and restored by Whites of Appleton Bell hangers.

A local fundraising campaign collected £45,000, including a £9,000 contribution from The Gloucestershire Environmental Trust, to make the restoration possible.

Cash was even raised to cast a new bell at the Whitechapel foundry in London - the makers of Big Ben - so the sound can be augmented to five ringing bells.

Simon Ridley, project manager, said: "We are immensely excited to have our bells back and look forward to be able to ring them again.

"When they sound for the first it will be the start of a new era in Stanway."

He added that the project did not run smoothly during the whole process, with cracks discovered on two of the oldest bells when they were taken down.

But they were able to be welded together, ensuring the project could continue.

John Brooks, a local resident, said: "Stanway is a small village and having these bells restored will contribute significantly to village life."

Charles Trevelyan, chuch warden, who has lived in Stanway for more than 25 years, added: "We are very much looking forward to hearing our restored and augmented ring and hearing the local team ringing them once again for services, weddings, national events and simply to hear their sound.”

The two oldest bells date from 1625 and 1638 and were cast by foundries in Woodstock and Worcester. The third bell dates from 1826 and it was cast by the Rudhall bell foundry in Gloucester.