AFTER 30 years of keeping things ticking over, the man who has wound a North Yorkshire church clock is stepping down.
Chris Slater, who wound the clock at St Andrew's Church, Kirkby Malzeard, has been described as "loyalty personified".
He also raised hundreds of pounds for an appeal to repair and electrify the winding mechanism, which meant he no longer had to climb the clock tower twice a week.
Even though the clock is now wound mechanically, Mr Slater, an ambulance driver for the Ministry of Defence at RAF Leeming, continued to visit regularly to make sure everything was in order.
Mr Slater, 62, said: "If ever the clock stopped or went wrong, people would soon get on to me about it."
To mark Mr Slater's retirement, the church will hold a thanksgiving service on Sunday, March 9, at 6pm.
Three canons will officiate, including Canon Frank Ledgard, who conducted the wedding service for Mr Slater and his wife, Mary.
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