A CHURCH choir is attracting worldwide attention after soaring up the music charts — and is hoping its home town can cash in on its success.

Wallingford Parish Church Choir’s CD of favourite hymns is making waves around the world after entering the classical music charts at number two.

Only The Band of the Coldsteam Guards are keeping the choir off the top spot with Pride of the Nation — and the choir members are hoping they will still be able to reach number one.

After achieving overnight success with their first collection, The Hymns Album, the choir members are hoping Decca Records asks them to record two more albums — an option in their contract. Sue Ledger, 52, director of music, loved the choir so much she gave up her career as a GP to lead the singers.

She said: “It’s tremendously exciting to be at number two in the Classical Artists Album Charts and choir members are thrilled.

“People all over the world are now able to buy the CD online and I know there have been sales in Germany.

“We have received emails and cards from across the country saying how touched they are to hear us sing the hymns. This will certainly raise the profile of Wallingford as a town, in the same way that Midsomer Murders has, and I think it could be another reason why people want to visit.”

She said: “I saw the Coldstream Guards when I went to London to watch the Royal Wedding, so I can understand why they are number one but I hope we can get there in the end.”

Ms Ledger said an agreed amount of royalties from album sales would go to the parochial church council, benefiting St Mary le More and St Leonard’s churches.

She said: “We could make another album of hymns next or an album of carols if Decca decided to go ahead.

“We are also number two in the Classic FM charts and we were at number 39 in the pop charts between Foo Fighters and Mumford and Sons, based on CD sales, although we haven’t been able to find out precisely how many CDs have been sold.”

Last year, the church choir entered a competition to find the nation’s best-loved choir after former Spice Girls manager Paul Conroy, who lives in the town, suggested it had a good chance of winning.

The choir, which sings for both churches, beat competition from across the UK to be picked by Universal Music as Britain’s favourite parish choir. Their prize was to record The Hymns Album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and it was released on April 18.

The group, which regularly appears as the fictional choir in TV drama Midsomer Murders, also visited the Royal Albert Hall in London to perform for Classic FM.

They recorded I Was Glad, one of the album’s 15 hymns, at the Abbey Road studios in London made famous by the Beatles’ album Abbey Road.

The choir has 33 adults and 19 juniors, with ages ranging from six to over 70.

Ms Ledger and other choir members will be signing copies of the CD on Saturday at St Mary’s Church between 10.30am and noon.

Independent county councillor for Wallingford, Lynda Atkins, said: “The church choir is now a great advertisement for the town and I am sure people will choose to stop off here after hearing about the CD.

“The lovely thing about the choir is that they are all genuine people and the group was not set up artificially just to make the album."