Clock is silenced after 300 years

A church clock that has chimed in a Bedfordshire village for 300 years may not be marking time for much longer.

After complaints from some residents, Mid Beds District Council concluded the chimes at St Peter and St Paul, in Cranfield, were a noise nuisance.

They issued the parish council with a noise abatement order meaning they have to stop the clock chiming at night.

The district council said noise inside homes was measured and the sound from the clock bells was 50 decibels.

A district council spokesman said: "We don't want to silence the bells completely, but think everyone deserves a decent night's sleep.

'Village life'

"Some residents have compared the noise to sleep deprivation and Mid Beds has a duty to protect them by asking the church to turn the noise down or turn the chimes off during the night.

"They have refused to consider this and by not working with us we have been given no choice but to issue our abatement notice."

The district council said the bells were not where they were 300 years ago, but were moved during their recent refurbishment.

The spokesman said the noise levels reached 50 decibels in a bedroom 140m (460ft) away.

Cranfield Parish Councillor Laurence Pollock said: "This results from a new development in the village.

"This development was started and some people moved in and argue they were not aware of this as a feature of village life."