Legacy MattersBell-ringer falls to his death after church wedding.
A bell-ringer plunged 30ft to his death seconds after a bride and groom tied the knot in a romantic church wedding ceremony.
The bride and groom, and their assembled guests were walking out of the church when 80-year-old bell-ringer Jack Sturgeon fell 30ft down a church tower, moments after ringing the bells for the happy occasion.
His devastated wife Beryl, 81, was in church at the time.
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After ringing the bells, he is believed to have climbed a second set of stairs to inspect the clock when he suddenly fell at St Mary's Church in Mildenhall, Suffolk, about 2.15pm on Saturday.
Mr Sturgeon, a bell-ringer of 40 years, suffered a suspected heart attack, however it is still unclear if it caused him to slip off the stairs, or whether the fall triggered the condition.
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Reverend Hodges said Mr Sturgeon was a '100 per cent reliable' bell-ringer.
'All we can say is that at least he died doing what he loved best in our church, a place he loved.'
She said the newlyweds, Mr Keane and Miss Brown, had also been shattered by the tragedy.
'They're local people and they've been left devastated. 'They'll never ever forget what happened on what should have been the happiest day of their lives.'