A MYSTERY businessman from Axbridge has asked for a silencer for the church clock to stop it chiming every 15 minutes during the night.

A MYSTERY businessman from Axbridge has asked for a silencer for the church clock to stop it chiming every 15 minutes during the night.

The man does not want to be named in case he is lynched by locals who believe the idea is a sacrilege, but he has even offered to pay for the equipment.

He would like the silencer, which would be set to a timer, to allow the clock to chime on the hour but stop its quarterly gongs.

Axbridge Town Council has agreed to consult the rest of the town on the matter before making a decision.

The winder in the clock on St John the Baptist Church's tower stopped working in February and the town council has agreed to put a community grant of £1,600 towards a new one.

Without the silencer it will cost £1,900 to repair the popular timepiece and the church will be paying for the rest of the bill.