A peal appeal: bellringer shortage as King Charles’s coronation looms

New recruits being frantically trained up so as many church bells as possible can ring out on 6 May

It is supposed to be a day when all the UK's 38,000 church bells ring out to mark the coronation of Kings Charles but some may stay silent amid a shortage of campanologists.

Since a call went out from the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) last autumn for new recruits to join 30,000 existing campanologists, about 1,750 have come forward. Not all have followed through, but many are in the process of being trained. Other volunteers have made direct approaches to local churches.