THREE of the young ringers at St Andrew’s Church, Kildwick, have been changing things outside the bell tower.

In a morning of hard graft, Angus Firth, Alfie Swinton and George Rees made an early start this week to the church’s spring clean. Storm Malik put paid to plans to oil the church's external doors and so instead, the young bell ringers sanded floors, freed stuck doors, added hinges to the disabled access ramp, polished and oiled the gate bolts and put a shine to the eagle lectern.

A church spokesperson said: "They’ve done a brilliant morning of work which has left the church a good deal smarter – and earned themselves Duke of Edinburgh points into the bargain. And then, with no prompting, they hoovered up the dust."

St Andrew’s church, which last year was awarded major parish church status, is now open to visitors on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from about 10 am till 2 pm.