Bell to ring out from Sleaford's church in support of Notre Dame cathedral blaze

French firefighters at the scene of Monday's fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Photo: Benoit Moser / Pompiers de Paris/PA Wire . EMN-190417-155501001

The half-muffled bell will be rung for seven minutes at 7pm in sympathy but also because Sleaford's church has a significant link with the Parisian cathedral .

Rev Philip Johnson, Vicar of Sleaford, explains: "St Denys was the first Bishop of Paris and founded a church on an island in the Seine, the site of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. "

He said he had made the arrangements in answer to an appeal for solidarity by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and the Prime Minister Theresa May.

Crowds sang hymns as they watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris go up in flames on Monday evening. Photo: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire EMN-190417-155414001

"Bells will be tolled in cathedrals and churches across the land at the same time to mark our solidarity with the church in France but it will be especially poignant for us because the Patron Saint of Sleaford links us to Paris and Notre Dame," he said.

"My wife was born in France and I have been to the cathedral many times - it is a place that I love."

He added: "One of my wife's cousins was in the crowd singing hymns outside Notre Dame on the night of the fire and she lives in Paris."

He plans to incorporate the bell ringing into the beginning of his Maundy Thursday service which will start immediately after the bell stops.