A group of bell ringers have set themselves the task of raising £70,000 to keep a church’s long history of campanology alive.

Bells have been tolling from the tower of St Mary’s Church in Walthamstow for over 200 years, but without extensive refurbishment there are fears the bells will no longer be able to function.

Dennis Hewitt, tower captain at the Church Hill site for 40 years, said: “They’re really getting in very poor condition and they probably won’t last much longer than eight or 10 years when they’ll become completely un-ringable.”

Mr Hewitt, of Malta Road in Leyton, has been ringing the bells at the Church Hill site for over 50 years and says the last work was carried out in 1896.

Then, a rotting wooden bell frame was replaced with cast iron and six bells were refurbished at the Spitalfields bell foundry.

Now the tower is home to 10 bells but the condition of the wheels, bearings and pins used to ring them, as well as fittings and support beams, is such that they need replacing.

One of the bells is also in need of re-tuning, which means it must be re-cast.

Mr Hewitt said replacing the aged components is expensive work.

“But at the moment the church can’t afford it so we, the bell ringers, have to fund the full amount before the grants come in,” he said.

The group hope to recoup some of the money through a series of grants from organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Essex Association of Bell Ringers.

Around £6,000 has been raised so far.

Mr Hewitt said the refurbished bells should last another century.