LEDBURY people, on New Year's Eve, will hear a joyful sound they will not have heard since the end of the last Millennium.

When the bells ring out in the spired, medieval tower of St Michael and All Angels Church, on December 31, it will not mean that war has broken out; instead it will be revival of an old and lapsed tradition.

Anne Toussaint, a spokesperson for the Ledbury Bellringers said: "Following the tradition of bells being used to commemorate significant occasions, on December 31, 2014, the Ledbury Bellringers will "ring out the old " year and " ring in the new ".

"This starts with a short piece of ringing prior to midnight. After the clock strikes twelve, the bells will be rung for about fifteen minutes to celebrate the start of the new year."

She added: "Particularly as the bells have been silent at New Year in recent years it would be good to let the public know what is happening.

"I have spoken to the rest of the ringers at Ledbury. The consensus was that the 2014 New Year ringing will be the first such ringing this century."

Eight bellringers in total will take part, and the countdown to 2015 will begin with eight bells being rung, then seven, then six and finally one, as the clock starts to strike midnight.

This will signify the dying of the old year.

After the 12th stroke of the clock, right at the start of 2015, the bellringers will once again join forces for a joyful communal peal that will last up to ten minutes in duration.