Church bells will ring out across a Moray square once again as a historic clock is restored back to its former glory.
The Buckie North Church congregation has been awarded £10,000 of cash through developer obligations to refurbish and fix the clock in the steeple.
It has been silent for more than five years due to and the ringing mechanism being broken.
But now in the autumn it will tell the time again with the bells ringing every hour.
The project is the first of a series of planned renovations to the historic church which has sat on the corner of the square in Buckie since the 1870s.
Volunteers also hope to raise £100,000 for essential repairs to the sandstone stonework of the building, which has been worn down by the salty air in the coastal town.
The church fabric convener Ian Moir hopes that the refurbishment will soon lead to other works to ensure the local landmark is safeguarded for future generations.
He said: “Until recently, the clock was maintained by Moray Council but they handed everything over to us and we volunteered to look after it.
“Currently it doesn’t ring but with this money, we are going to strip it, clean it, replace the bell hammer and install a unit that will control the bell and make it ring every hour.
“We will also upgrade the clock movement and fix the mechanism on it.”
Fundraising events have been organised by the congregation to raise money for future works on the church. They have raised £40,000 so far.
Mr Moir said: “We hoped to get the outside repointed and sealed with concrete and mortar but that costs money.
“Every little helps though and any money we get we try and invest it for the long term and we will hopefully eventually earn enough to make the building stable and no longer at risk.”
