ONE of the most significant days in the Christian calendar was celebrated in Bromsgrove last Thursday for the first time since the 1930s with an open-air service.

Ascension Day, when Jesus ascended into Heaven, was marked at St John's Parish Church with an early morning service in front of the west door and in which more than 40 worshippers took part.

It began at 7am with the choir climbing to the top of the lofty tower where a traditional Ascension Day hymn was sung from the battlements. The last time that had happened as part of an Ascension Day service was more than 70 years ago.

The service was conducted by the vicar, the Rev Nigel Marns, assisted by the curate, the Rev Mike Rogers. Mr Marns said later he hoped the revived tradition will continue.

The mass release of 600 red balloons against the backdrop of a sunlit May sky and the majestic, soaring church steeple provided a fitting finale to the service.

The balloons had been bought for £1 each by pupils and parents at Millfields and Charford first schools as well as friends of St John's to enter in a race to raise cash for the St John's Landmark Appeal.

Its target is £1m to fund urgent repairs to the crumbling fabric and restore the church's organ.

A small band volunteers from the appeal team spent 90 furious minutes blowing up the balloons, attaching the cards and stuffing them into a huge 'sausage' net prior to the release.

The winner's name will be announced at the appeal's stall at the Elizabethan Street Market in the High Street on June 26.