Alec Gammon, a veteran parish councillor and bellringer, has died, aged 87.

Alec Gammon, pictured in 1982, was a record-breaker

He rang church bells for more than 60 years, mostly at St Nicholas Church, Old Marston, Oxford.

He was an Old Marston parish councillor for more than 30 years. He joined the council in 1955 with the aim of building a parish hall.

He recalled: "I was a member of the village hall committee. We were trying to raise money to build a hall on the recreation ground.

"I wanted to look at the deeds of the village, but was told by the chairman that only council members could see the deeds. So I thought I had better get on the parish council."

After a major fundraising effort, the village hall, known as Mortimer Hall, after a former vicar, opened in 1962.

Mr Gammon, of Oxford Road, Old Marston, was parish council chairman for five years and remained a member until 1973 when he resigned in protest at a number of rude telephone calls from villagers. He returned to the council in 1980 and retired in 1995.

He took up bellringing in 1928 while a chorister at St Andrew's Church, Headington, and joined the Oxford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers in 1932.

During his long career as a bellringer, he picked up six world records and 35 Oxford Diocesan Guild awards.

During the war, he served with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He was captured at Dunkirk and was held prisoner for several years.

Mr Gammon, who worked for Prudential Insurance and later as a senior planner at the Cowley car plant, leaves two daughters, Sheenagh and Cecilia, and three grandchildren, Ian, Andrew and Jenny. His wife, Edith, died in 1998.

The funeral is at St Nicholas Church, Old Marston, on September 19, at noon.