British clockmaker Ian Westworth is bracing for a wave of concern this weekend from Londoners convinced the country's most famous clock Big Ben has broken down.

Towering over the UK capital and its parliament, the clock will be stopped briefly to adjust for the switch to winter time -- one of only two occasions each year when it is allowed to pause.

The change takes place at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) on Sunday, when clocks across the UK are turned back one hour to 1:00 am, marking the end of British Summer Time and the return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Most European countries also revert to standard time ("winter time") Sunday, although there have been calls to scrap seasonal clock changes in recent years, most recently from Spain's leader Pedro Sanchez on Monday.

"We come up here and stop

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