A peal of melodious but persistent bells has ended the traditional alliance of church and pub in a market town made famous by the former poet laureate Sir John Betjeman.

His verses celebrated the chimes of St Peter and St Paul in Wantage, Oxfordshire, as sounding softly through the apple blossom, but they have had the opposite effect on the landlord of the nearby Swan inn.

Bleary with lack of sleep, because of 24-hour quarter chimes and a hymn called Angel Song which is played every three hours, Graham Taylor burst into Sunday service shouting out: "What about 'Love thy neighbour'?"

He has now made an official complaint to the Vale of White Horse district council which is installing noise-monitoring equipment in his bedroom.

The protest has split the market town between other sleep-deprived residents and opponents who accuse the Swan of hypocrisy, as the town's noisiest pub.

Mr Taylor, 33, apologised for "losing it" when he invaded the medieval parish church but said: "The bells ring every 15 minutes, all through the night, so just as you are nodding off, you are woken up again. Then every hour it is the full Big Ben treatment."

He has won support from neighbours, including another landlord, Daryll Taylor of the King Alfred's Head, who moved to the other side of Wantage to get some sleep. Mr Taylor, no relation to his namesake, said: "You go to bed at 2am after work and then you don't get a wink all night."

But the bells, installed in 1898 in honour of Queen Victoria, also have defenders. The Rev John Salter said: "In 12 years I have never been aware of anyone making a complaint. It would be a shame if they were turned off. Mr Taylor has lived here for over two years and has never complained before."

The ringing master, Peter Davies, was more blunt."This is a bloody cheek. We have one complaint and it's from the landlord of the noisiest pub in Wantage."

The Vale of White Horse is preparing for a Solomon's judgment, following cases in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, where the chimes were reduced, and Tickhill, South Yorkshire, where the complaint was withdrawn.

A spokesman said: "We can make a request for the bells to be turned off. But they have been operating without complaint for many years."

The council had received complaints about the Swan but these were resolved after Mr Taylor "modified" his sound system.