THE plight of Alton’s town crier and his bell has been resolved, thanks to the kindness of a Medstead engineer.

Disaster struck popular town crier Stan Whitcher two weeks ago when he dropped his bell while crying in Alton’s Market Square, snapping off its clanger.

It was a dilemma indeed and one which Mr Whitcher sought to remedy, but the challenge of soldering the afflicted part of the ageing brass bell went unmet until, via a process of recommendation, he found himself knocking on the door of TC Services at Red Hill Farm, Medstead.

There, owner Tom looked at the problem and came up with a solution – drilling through the clanger and using a bolt to attach it back onto the chain.

While more used to servicing vehicles, for Tom the town crier’s bell must have been a novelty, so much so in that he didn’t charge for the work – a kindness for which Mr Whitcher has expressed his grateful thanks.