An Aberdeen man is celebrating almost 40 years of performing carillon music for the Kirk of St Nicholas.

Musician Ronald Leith is Aberdeen's only carillonneur - a job most people do not know exists.

The extraordinary musical instrument is played from a keyboard and consists of a set of bells fixed to a frame.

There are only three or four carillons in Scotland and the kirk's is one of the largest with 48 bells.

Celebrating nearly four decades of carillon playing, Ronald said: "A lot of people think there are 48 people up here pulling ropes but of course there is only me.

"These are actually the best bells in Europe, it's not me who says so, it's people who come from Holland and Belgium and who know about bells and they just drool about the sound."

Ronald was the only applicant for the job after his wife saw it advertised in 1978.