Sergey Sitwell ringing the Ellacombe chimes at Heytesbury

Mr Gildea, who suggested the idea that church bells should be rung on Saturday, October 30^th, the eve of the start of COP26 remarked “ It's an historic function of church bells to send a warning, because they used to be the best form of communication we had”.

They were the loudest noise that might reach a few miles to warn of floods, fire or a shipwreck. From the bells of St Pauls Cathedral to the parish churches throughout the Wylye Valley, the message rang out for urgent action against climate change.