Workers from an Ashford-based company clocked on for an unusual job today.

Taskmasters sent two of its employees abseiling down the iconic St Stephen's Tower in Westminster - which houses the bell known as Big Ben - to carry out repairs on the clock face.

It is part of a maintenance programme that's completed every three to four years, to keep the glazing in good knick.

The company, based on Dover Place, specialises in carrying out work at great heights.

Dangling from ropes 70m above the ground, the cool-headed workers examined each face of the clock tower to pinpoint the areas that would need to be repaired.

Company spokesman Terri Cliffe-Harrison said: "It's been a very noisy experience, because the clock is still working.

"It's especially bad at 12 o'clock because of the number of 'bongs'. They have been wearing ear protectors, but they don't think they've been 100 per cent effective"