AN urgent call has gone out for bell-ringers to play at the funeral of a Marsden man killed in a car crash.

Former soldier Ross Neill, 24, was one of three friends killed in a tragedy near Delph last Friday morning.

He was a passenger in a Peugeot 106 which was in a head-on crash with a bus on a notorious stretch of the A62 between Oldham and Delph at 1am.

The other victims were 22-year- old amateur boxer Paul McKenzie, of Marsh, and 25-year-old Carl Rawlinson, from Huddersfield.

Two other young men in the car are seriously ill but in stable conditions at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Ross, a lorry driver, lived in Slaithwaite with his girlfriend, Joanna, but came originally from Marsden.

He was one of four children.

His funeral will be at St Bartholomew's Church in Marsden at 1pm on Friday.

Ross used to love waking up at his Marsden home on Sunday mornings to the sound of the church bells - and his family want them played at his funeral.

But the problem is that most of the usual bell-ringers will be working on Friday.

Bell-ringer Donald Lodge and his daughter, Julie Walsh, need at least three, and preferably four, more people to join them.

Mr Lodge said they would be playing the usual Sunday morning peal, rallying the faithful to prayer.

He added: "We will be playing rounds and call changes and would appeal to any bell-ringers from Huddersfield to join us, so we can provide a service to meet the family's wishes."

Mr Lodge's grandson, Chris Lodge, is a driver with the RAF and is now serving in the Falklands.

He was one of Ross's close friends.

Anyone who can help should contact Mr Lodge on 01484 844484.