Television personality, Kevin McCloud, well-known for the programme, Grand Designs, presented a talk at Kilmersdon Village Hall on Tuesday, 13th May, to help raise money for the village's church tower.

In 2013, the tower of St Paul and St Peter's Church had to be sealed off after one of the bells came loose and crashed through two floors, narrowly avoiding a group of church ringers, who were practising in the tower.

Since then, the tower has been on the 'Heritage at Risk' register, because of the repairs that need doing to the roof. Work is due to start this year, carried out by B2 Architects. The project's progress can be watched online through the blog: nonmodernworld.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/st-peter-and-st-paul-kilmersdon.html Ken Hutton, who organised the event, said in a letter to local businesses: 'Like all old buildings, there is a need for ongoing repairs and maintenance. An inspection in 2011 identified a number of works that needed to be carried out, some urgently. This is why areas around the tower are now fenced off for safety reasons.

'The estimated cost of repairs is £163,000, so we were very pleased to receive an early Christmas present in December 2012, when we heard that our application to English Heritage for a grant to cover a proportion of these costs had been successful.

'However, the grant is dependent upon the local community raising at least £18,000. Local fundraising activity is underway to raise this sum.'

Kevin McCloud's sold-out talk on the church tower was part of this fundraising effort, with residents each paying £5 for a ticket and the presenter donating his time for free.