I was quoted £50,000 to fix the local church clock – but all it took was a £3 can of WD-40

A BROKEN church clock facing a £50,000 repair bill was finally fixed by two bell-ringers with a £3 can of WD-40.

Officials feared having to launch a major fundraising appeal to fix the timepiece.

But Rick Haywood, 47, and Jay Foley, 15, managed to get it going with a good clean.

Grimsby Minster’s clock has been stuck at 12:02 for 12 years.

Experts, including the firm working on Big Ben’s £80million restoration, said scaffolding was needed around the 287ft tower, dating to 1365, to carry out external repairs.

But cheesemaker Rick and student Jay decided to have a go themselves.

The clock mechanism is housed in a box on the wall of the bell-ringing chamber.

And the pair, due to perform maintenance on the bells, decided to look at the clock workings at the same time.

Rick, of Grimoldby, Lincs, said: “We did not think we could do any more damage.

“We found various dead pigeons gumming up the bearings. Some of the bearings were very dry.

“We gave it grease and WD-40 and managed to get it running.

“The church had one or two engineers from big clock companies and they were starting at £40-50,000 to get it running again. We saved them at least £40,000 so I am hoping for a meal invite.”

Jay, of Killingholme, Lincs, added: “I think the main reason it stopped was age.

“When we went up there, all the gears and stuff were not in the right alignment.

“The minutes, hours and seconds all have separate sections, which were out of order.

“We got the dead pigeons out and it slowly ticked along after we greased it and cleaned it out.”

The pair then used their mobiles to set the time for the four clockfaces on the tower.

Jay said: “It is one or two minutes out because it took that long to tighten everything up.”

Church warden Chris Daniel, 68, said: “It’s amazing because you would not believe how much hassle you get when a church clock is not working.”