The Rt Rev Alan Wilson will celebrate the patronal festival of St Laurence in a family service starting at 10am, which will include a blessing of the church's newly-restored eight bells and a welcome for the new benefice curate, the Rev Ann Harwood.

Winslow rector the Rev Belinda Searle-Barnes said: "This special benefice service offers us a marvellous opportunity to celebrate the wonderful bells of St Laurence.

"They are now restored and able to give of their full potential to call people to worship at this beautiful church and to ring out in celebration for festivals and weddings."

In a joint statement, church tower captains Diana Slevin and Mandy Cliffe said they were delighted the bell restoration project had been such a success.

They added: "This would not have been possible without enormous support from the congregation, people of Winslow, local bell-ringers, funding bodies and the craftsmen who worked on the project."

Following the service, a bring-and-share lunch will be held at Winslow Public Hall in Elmfields Gate, starting at 12.15pm.

The lunch will mirror an event held in April 1956, when 500 people gathered for tea in the public hall to celebrate the installation of the church's pair of treble bells.

More than £60,000 was raised by the bell ringing team and their supporters to fund the restoration of the church clock, bells and tower, and an exhibition detailing the restoration work can be seen in Winslow's Bell Hotel from now until next Saturday, October 18.

Visit the website www.stlaurence winslow.org.uk for more information.