Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take part in Christmas Eve bell-ringing event organised by Yorkshire mum

Boris Johnson spoke with organiser Mary Beggs-Reid, saying that he, Ms Symonds and baby son Wilfred “will be out ringing bells”.

Mary Beggs-Reid, from Harrogate, said her event is “more needed now than ever” ahead of her call with Mr Johnson on Tuesday morning (Dec 22).

“He said him, Carrie and Wilfred will be out ringing bells to help Santa on his way,” she said after the phone call.

Thousands of people across the UK have been asked to ring bells for two minutes at 6pm on December 24 as part of the campaign, which started on October 19.

The event has been endorsed by Captain Sir Tom Moore, who called it “a brilliant initiative at a time where it is really needed”.

Mrs Beggs-Reid said: “Especially with the recent news, this is more needed now than ever. It was just a simple bell-ring to start with but it’s evolved into so much more, so that for two minutes on Christmas Eve nobody feels alone.”

The 41-year-old, who works as an estate manager, was contacted by No 10 after Mr Johnson expressed an interest in ringing bells on Christmas Eve.

She had been due to travel to London to meet Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds on Monday, but due to the tough new restrictions introduced in the capital on Saturday, they instead took part in a phone call on December 22.

Mrs Beggs-Reid told PA: “I think it’s fantastic that the Prime Minister is getting behind an everyday mum like me and trying to help communities as much as we can.”