It is now facing a hefty bill to put the problem right and in the meantime has had to revert to on-the-hour chimes during the day as well.
It is the second time in two years All Hallows Church in Wellingborough town centre has had to stop its chim
es because of a problem with the mechanism.
All Hallows vicar Father Anthony Reader-Moore said: "It's not a major complaint.
"It was just somebody who has recently moved to the area and is not used to the quarter-hour chimes. He just came in and said they kept him awake and was there a chance anything could be done."
The technical problem means that instead of reverting to an hourly chime at night, they were ringing every quarter of an hour.
A similar problem led to the bells being silenced for three weeks in May 2007.
Mr Reader-Moore said: "The bells have been here for hundreds of years and people who move near to a church have to expect this sort of thing.
"The gentleman concerned had a point. We took it seriously but we have to live together and there is no way we would switch the bells off completely."
A number of residents living near the church said they enjoy the regular chimes.
Nora O'Dea, 77, of Great Park Street, said: "I love it. I think they are super, and they should keep them going. They don't disturb me"
Andrew Reason, 33, of Church Street, said: "I like the bells. They have been there for hundreds of years so people shouldn't move here then moan about them because they have always been there. They can't stop the bells."
Michael Argent, 56, of Park Road, said: "They do make a lot of noise, especially for people living nearby, and it seems they annoy some people.
"I find them quite pleasant personally, but then again I live further away from them."
The full article contains 351 words and appears in Northants Evening Telegraph newspaper.
