Axminster's Town Clock has not been telling the time for the past month, and locals have now launched a fundraiser to repair it.

The town council has donated a sum towards the project, but organisers have been left with a shortfall in the project. The Church Council are appealing to people and businesses of the town of Axminster to donate towards the complete replacement of the clock winding system and help to ensure the public timekeeper keeps our community ticking along for generations to come.

If you can help towards the £15,000 fundraising target, Donate via ‘Start the Clock Axminster!’ GoFundMe portal or put donations in an envelope marked ‘Clock’ & drop in the Wall Safe in the Minster Church.

Launched on Wednesday (July 17), £435 has been raised as of Friday (July 19). With a target of £10,000

The clock housed in the tower of the Minster Church, has been a traditional public timekeeper for nearly 130 years.

Since June it has shown 12 o’clock following the breakdown of its automatic winding system. The clock was built by Gillett & Johnston Co. of Croydon in 1887 and was gifted to the town of Axminster in 1897 by W E Pitfield Chapple, Chairman of the first Parish Council.

In 1973 the original 25-hour manual winding system was upgraded with an automatic winder, allowing the clock to operate without being manually wound daily.

In 2015 the clock was found to be in need of an overhaul and its winding system in need of modernisation. Funds were raised for the Clock mechanism overhaul which was carried out in September that year by Nicholsons Engineering of Bridport, but there were insufficient funds raised to update the winding mechanism, so for the past nine years it has limped through to its natural end of life. Whilst the 1887 clock is in very good condition, the archaic 50-year-old winder gear no longer meets current electrical regulations and is no longer viable to repair.