Three generations of Alnwick family prepare to ring bells to mark coronation of King Charles III

Jean Darby, her daughter Ruth Darby and 16-year-old grand-daughter Izzy will be in action on Saturday from around 2pm, when the procession is scheduled to be heading back to Buckingham Palace.

Speaking about the hobby, Jean, 79, said: “It’s absolutely great that we have something to do together.

"As teenagers get older they kind of separate away from the family a bit and spend more time with their friends, so it’s really nice to have something that we can do all together.

"Izzy has two teenage friends that she’s encouraged to come along too, which is just lovely.”

The bell ringers at St Michael’s started their hobby when 10 new bells were installed in September 2021. Since, experts have travelled from Rothbury, Embleton, Bamburgh and Ponteland to teach the group how to ring.

The bells were part of a project led by volunteer bell ringer Jim Crowther. And one of those bells has been dedicated to Jean's late husband, Baz, engraved with ‘ring joyfully in memory of Baz Darby’.

Jean added: “It’s so nice to have him here with us, he’s remembered up there.

"The three of us all do this together because we want to ring the bell joyfully.

“The three of us haven’t been ringing together for even two years so we’re novice ringers. We all ring on a regular basis and we wouldn’t be where we are without all the beautiful people who have travelled to show us their expertise.

"People have been really good coming to help us ring.”