THE glorious sound of 10 chiming bells filled the air in a Kent village during a marathon four-hour peal. Bell ringers from the Kent Association of Change Ringers gathered at St Nicholas Church at Leeds near Maidstone to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first 10-bell peal at the church.

St Nicholas was one of the first churches in the country to install 10 bells in the 18th century. They were first rung in a maiden four-hour peal by the Leeds Youths society of bell ringers on November 2, 1751. Eight of the bells are those originally rung in the historic peal.

One of the ringers, Nick Davies, said: "It was physically quite demanding because some of the hangings are 90 years so the bells aren't as easy to ring as newer ones. But it was nice to know that the sound we were making was exactly the same as what people would have heard 250 years ago."