CHURCH bells which fell silent in February when there was no team to ring them, have struck up again - thanks to a new crew.

And Kildwick Ringers were good enough - after just four months training - to ring the morning service at St Andrew's church on the first Sunday in August.

The new team of eight came after a Spring recruitment drive and are now the proud owners of certificates from the Association of Ringing Teachers, marking the progress of their learning..

Teaching them the ropes has been Chris Wright, Kildwick Tower Captain, a member of the former team.

"For four months, strange sounds, often rather discordant, have escaped from the tower but it was with great joy that eight individual ringers have come together to create a single new band, " said Chris.

"To have achieved this in so short a time is remarkable and it owes a great deal to the help we’ve received from other ringers, particularly to Jane Lynch from Bingley and the ringers at Oxenhope and Keighley. The ringing is not yet great – but we’re improving.

"Now that we have a band, we want more. We want to ring all eight bells regularly and that needs a team of ten to fifteen.

"If you’d like to come along and see if you’d like to join this active and social group, then come along just about any Thursday evening when you hear the bells ring. You’ll be more than welcome."

The new ringing team comprises Peter and Ben Seward, Ed Askew, Chris Wright, David Pearson, Gill Berry, Theresa Clark and Tina Tipping.