THE eight bells of St Peter’s Church in Ruthin have returned to the town to be fitted.

The bells will be fitted into a new purpose-built frame ahead of the official ring in September.

The mid-19th century peal of eight has been restored, repaired and re-tuned at Taylor’s Foundry in Loughborough after the church was awarded a £96,000 National Lottery Award.

A spokesperson for the diocese of St Asaph said: "The official first ring will take place on Sunday, September 8 when the bells will be rung before the morning service and for an hour afterwards.

"On Saturday, September 7, as part of Ruthin Open Doors, there’ll be tours up the newly refurbished bell tour and an exhibition with more details about the restoration project."

The Ringing Master of the North Wales Association of Church Bell Ringers, Peter Furniss said: "It has been a very exciting milestone to restore the bells.

"The bells have all come back to the church with a lot of frame work and associated fittings. They have all been offloaded off the wagon and taken into the tower and indeed a number of the bells are back up at the top of the tower."

Coordinator for the Ruthin Bells Project, Jenny Trigger said: "These bells have historical significance. We've had bells at St Peter's Church for many centuries and we have had a particular specialised form of bell ringing, so the opportunity to refurbish the bells and reintroduce this traditional way of bell ringing is very exciting."