Bell to be rung in Grantham after more than 100,000 deaths recorded from coronavirus

A bell at St Wulfram's Church will be rung this evening (Tuesday) to pay respects to those who have died of coronavirus after 100,000 deaths were recorded in the UK.

David Braunton, the tower captain at the Grantham church, will ring the tenor bell, half muffled, for 10 minutes from 8pm to pay respects to those who have died.

David came up with the idea of the toll and told the Journal: "Bells have been used throughout the ages to announce events or milestones and I wanted to acknowledge the unfortunate passing of this milestone.

"The bell will be half muffled as we would do to toll for a funeral. For those who have lost relatives, it's a way of communicating that the whole community acknowledges their personal loss and that we, as a nation, share their loss."

Around four in 10 of the registered deaths in the week ending January 15 were attributed to COVID-19 - the highest number so far.

This week Lincolnshire County Council announced that the first doses of the Covid vaccine had been given at all care homes in the county.