Deserted Salisbury Plain village of Imber opened to public

A replacement set of bells was hung in St Giles Church in 2010

A village in Wiltshire that was abandoned during World War II and then taken over by the military opened for the weekend.

The village of Imber is normally closed to the public as it is in a military training zone on Salisbury Plain.

More than 100 people attended a service at St Giles Church, in Imber, on Salisbury Plain.

On Sunday, a full peal of the bells was rung which took some two-and-a-half hours to complete.

It is the fifth time a full peal has been rung since a new set of six bells was re-hung in August 2010, after the original bells were taken out in 1950.

The entire civilian population of the village was ordered to leave in December 1943 to provide a training area for American troops preparing for the invasion of Europe during World War II.

They were never allowed to return.

Since 2005, when the church was taken over by the Churches Conservation Trust, more than £300,000 has been spent on renovations.