An electrician has given light to a medieval church in Merthyr Cynog after converting its old and unused lights from gas to electric in what has been described as a “labour of love” by parishioners.

David Hingley of Lechfaen started the restoration project, which had previously been deemed impossible, at St Cynog Church, near Brecon, in August 2017 after he had what he describes as a “lightbulb moment” at a funeral.

The 65-year-old, who runs his own electrical company called L&J Electrical Services, even had to hand make all of the parts he needed to convert the original light fixtures as there were no existing parts which fitted them.

David, who moved to Wales from Birmingham in 1975, came up with the idea to convert the lights after attending the funeral service in the church 13 months ago. He said: “It was after the funeral. I said to the guy sitting next to me that they were old gas lights hanging down from the ceiling. He said ‘no, they’re not’, but I was pretty sure.

“Once everybody had left after the funeral, I stood on one of the pews to get a closer look. David Evans, the churchwarden, said ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ so I explained that I was having a look and asked whether they’d considered converting the lights to electric.”

Churchwarden Mr Evans and treasurer Dorcas Slaney told him that when they had enquired before, companies had always said it was an impossible task. But David told them that for a small price he would be happy to take on the challenge. Quite soon afterwards David Evans and Mrs Slaney were able to tell him the church could make some money available.

The electrician, who has been at the church most days recently with his three-year-old Jack Russell Terrier Lottie, even fashioned the glass lampshades which match the style of the originals.

David also helped to install outdoor lights such as around the back of the church and one on the gate.

Talking about the lengthy process, he said: “The hardest part so far has been the chandelier at the front. I have enjoyed doing the job. It wasn’t a business proposition, I’ve just really enjoyed it – I don’t think you could put a price on what I’ve done here, I was way out with my estimate.

“It’s good to see the lighting system be used as well – some of the stuff here was destined for the skip, so I’m glad I’ve found a way to make use of it.”

Before the lights were updated, the church congregation had been relying on simple pendant lights hanging from the ceiling which were installed in 1974.

The old lights were just light bulbs without lampshades and provided poor visibility for the hymn and prayer books in services.

Dorcas, who compared the old electric lighting to a garden shed, said: “We had looked into having the lights converted and the companies we’d spoken to had always said they couldn’t do it because of the diameters of the lights.

“After we were approached by David asking if we’d considered it, a little money became available and so we asked if he would be happy to do it.

“It has been a labour of love. He’s taken a lot of care and pride with it and he seems to have enjoyed doing it.

“The piping had to be remade for him to be able to do it, and he really has spent a lot of time on it.”

Warden David didn’t reveal how much they had been charged for the new lights, but he said that he would not have made his money back.

Electrician David, who is 65, said despite his age he has no plans to retire yet, and that while St Cynog Church has been his first and only restoration project of this kind he has tackled to date, he would be happy to take on another one in the future.

The church, which holds services once or twice a month, will be celebrating the new lighting with a Christmas Tree Festival on the first weekend in December.