THE bells of Christchurch, Ebbw Vale, sound the hour, every hour, even right through the night.

For some, it's a welcome return of a local tradition after six years without them - following the £600,000 restoration of the church, including the 19th century clock tower.

For others, it's a nuisance which disturbs their sleep. For the Rev Geoff Waggett it could lead to a prosecution as a noise nuisance.

He says: "I resent being treated the same way as someone playing their hi-fi at 2 o'clock in the morning, I think the whole thing is nonsense."

Blaenau Gwent council has received complaints and is investigating the situation.

But for Tracy Colcombe, 31, who lives four houses away from the church, the bells are not a major headache.

She says: "It's nice to have the bells back in the town. I don't hear them at all at night, maybe it would be different if I could hear them then."

Edith Webb, who lives just doors away from the church dubbed the 'Cathedral of the Valleys' says the bells don't make a difference to her at night.

She says: "It is nice to have them back in the church." Another fan of the bells, Leslie Hanson, said: "I can hear the bells when I come to town. I love to hear them chiming.

"It's good to have them back after all these years, and it's how it should be. People didn't complain about church bells 150 years ago, why are they now?"

John Hopkins, of Beaufort, Ebbw Vale, says it is good to see the church back to its former glory.

He says: "It's nice to have the bells back. It's a big part of the church."

But their enthusiasm for the chimes is not shared by residents Albina Secker and Muriel Banfield.

Mrs Secker, 80, says: "The bells were a nuisance years ago, and they should not have come back."

Eighty-one year old Muriel Banfield adds: "Many years ago we were cursed with the bells and now they are chiming again."

A spokesman from Blaenau Gwent council said: "At present we are asking the residents who have complained to keep a record of instances which give them cause for complaint, in order for us to establish whether there may be a case of noise nuisance to be addressed.

"Many cases of this sort are resolved amicably, and the authority would always seek to reach a solution without recourse to legal action. However, if a statutory noise nuisance is proved, then the local authority has to serve a legal notice."

* The World Health Organisation says that noise levels should be kept to under 55 decibels to ensure that the majority of people do not believe a serious noise nuisance is being caused, and under 50 decibels to ensure that the majority of people would not be annoyed by the noise.