'I've been hooked on bell-ringing for 80 years'

A man who started bell-ringing "by chance" as a teenager, says he has been "hooked" for 80 years.

John Bennett started ringing church bells in 1946, when he was 14 years old.

Now 94, Bennett is tower captain at St Mary Magdalene Church, Gedney, Lincolnshire, where family and friends surprised him with a party to mark his 80th anniversary.

"It's an excellent exercise for body and brain," he said.

Bennett got into campanology when he began ringing the bells at a church in Leicestershire in 1946.

"It was something to do in those days so I thought I'll have a go," he said.

He became tower captain at St Mary Magdalene Church, looking after the bells and bell-ringers, following a move to Lincolnshire 15 years ago.

He has rung bells to mark the coronations of both Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, and has also had a go at bell-ringing in the US and Africa.

Bennett's son, Stephen, described his father's achievement as "incredible".

"He is so enthusiastic," he said.

Fellow bell-ringer Luke Tobin, 34, said: "He's a bit of an encyclopaedia on ringing."

Eric Roberts, 82, travelled from Leicestershire for the celebration.

He said Bennett taught him to ring when he was 12 years old and he had been ringing ever since.

Angela Scott, 64, who was also taught by Bennett, said: "I always hold him up as an example. I want to get to 100 and still be ringing bells."

Bennett said he had no plans to retire and added: "I'm going to keep going as long as I can."

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