Church officials have been rapped for not muffling the sound of their bells as a mark of respect to the people who died in the Omagh bombing.

Gillian Harrison of Stert Street, Abingdon, who lives virtually next door to the St Nicolas Church in the town, was disappointed to hear the bells ring out as normal the day after the outrage in Northern Ireland.

She said: "They were muffled to lament the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, a year ago. Yet, they were rung as normal the day after 28 completely innocent people had been murdered in Northern Ireland.

"It seems to me there is something very peculiar about these different reactions.

"If the untimely death of a member of the Royal Family warrants a public expression of national mourning, why not the deaths of these fellow citizens in such appalling circumstances?"

The Rev Martin Lovering, vicar of the church, pointed out that special services had been held for Diana a whole week after her death last year - and muffling the church bells took time and presented practical difficulties.

But he added: "It is a valid point, though. We did have a minute's silence because of the Northern Ireland situation.

"Once you have made the decision to muffle the bells, you have to get up to the bell tower and put leather mufflers on the clappers. It is a difficult decision to make.

"If you stopped the bells every time there was a disaster, you would probably have no bells."

The bells were sounded during the regular Sunday service - the day after the bombing - as there was little time to prepare the mufflers.

St Nicolas Church, in Abingdon's Market Place, will open its doors to visitors who wish to quietly pay their respects to Diana on Monday, August 31 - the anniversary of her death.

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