THERE is one question baffling parishioners at a church currently undergoing an urgently needed restoration – who shot the cockerel?

Work is now under way to repair the timber bell tower at St Peter’s Church, Pirton, near Worcester, but architects from Nick Joyce Architects have found the cockerel on the weather vane has mysteriously been used as target practice.

Members of Pirton Church Tower Appeal have been scratching their heads as to how the two bullet holes appeared on the cockerel which is also being repaired and re-gilded.

While it is currently no longer sat on top of the church, the group have also come up with the idea of letting people jump over the cockerel to raise funds for the restoration work during a fundraiser on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm.

Derek Skeys, committee chairman, said: “We will be giving people the opportunity to jump over the cockerel which usual sits at the top of the weather vane.

“Once it has been returned, it will be a great story for people to tell their children and grandchildren in the future – that they once jumped over the weather vane.

“He [the cockerel] does seem to have had something of an exciting life as there appears to be at least two bullet holes in him.

“We wonder who actually shot our cockerel?”

Architects had already found a mediaeval bell frame inside the picturesque tower while investigating its historical features and the importance of the tower construction.

The striking black and white timber-framed bell tower of the church is deteriorating and in need of significant repair and restoration.

Despite a Heritage Lottery Fund grant towards the repair and investigations, parishoners still have to raise £40,000 to ensure the structure is maintained for future generations.

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