St Peter's Church records CD of 'the sound of silence'

A church desperate to raise funds has recorded 'the sound of silence' on to a CD which has become a surprise hit with its congregation.

Members of St Peter's Church in East Blatchington, Sussex, recorded 'a little bit of the silence' of the building's atmosphere.

The unusual audio has been a surprise hit with churchgoers, with St Peter's selling their first copies at an open day and taking more orders since.

The recording of St Peter's atmosphere features the ambient sound of footsteps, voices, background traffic noise - but mostly nothing at all.

Robin Yarnton, a church technician at St Peter's, said: "It does what it says on the tin. Silence is all you get.

"Mostly people have said it's nice and they like it, and that it's quiet and peaceful."

Mr Yarnton admitted to having mixed feelings about the idea suggested by churchgoer Roger Bing, but released the recording after inviting church members to 'tune out and tune in'.

The full CD features a 30-minute track, with a spoken introduction from the Reverend Canon Dr Andrew Mayes, closing words, and 28 minutes of silence.

It has been described as a 'meditation aid, with a spiritual or faith element' but churchgoers have been urged to use it 'in any way they like'.

Related: World's youngest DJ is six-years-old

The recording does not have a set price, with buyers able to decide how much they think it is worth and make an appropriate donation to the church.

Mr Bing said the first batch of CDs were a sell-out, with more copies now on the way.

He said: "The point was to have silence but not total silence. You need the occasional background noise such as a footfall or the sound of someone squeaking in a pew."