For 200 years the church clock in Stanton St John has been wound by hand.

But now church officials are to buy a £3,000 winding machine because of fears they will fall foul of health and safety laws.

Parishioners of St John the Baptist will be asked to raise cash for the clock.

Church leaders said they were spurred into the fundraising drive by concerns the European Commission would put restrictions on manual lifting.

But the commission – which proposes legislation to the EU – said it had no plans to introduce such a law.

Once a week, a volunteer winch two weights up the Cox Lane clock tower with a handle, a process which takes about 20 minutes.

The new electric-powered machine would raise the weights without the need for manual lifting.

The Rev Stevie Cross, the vicar of St John’s, said: “The clock is working perfectly and we are grateful to the volunteer who regularly winds this for us.”

But she said the church was concerned a future commission law would put a limit on the amount of weight which can be manually lifted.

The commission denied this, but the vicar said the church was still concerned laws could be introduced in the long-term.

She said: “This made us look at our situation and realise in the present day it is unrealistic to expect someone to wind up over 120lbs, up two storeys in height by hand, and to consider electrification.”

The fundraising will be part of a £160,000 appeal to repair the church roof, along with some stone and plasterwork, and to add a lightning conductor.

European Commission spokesman Jennifer Hutton confirmed there was a forthcoming directive about musculoskeletal disorders.

She said: “The Commission is still working on the proposal and its impact assessment, and the final proposal will depend on the results of these ongoing activities.

“However, a directive suggesting load limits is not on the table.”

Jason Green, spokesman for the UK Health and Safety Executive, said: “There is no maximum weight limit in existing UK legislation. The employer has a duty to ensure work is completed safely.”

He said the UK would oppose any move for a legal maximum weight that could be lifted manually as this could be dealt with by risk assessments.