He's the one in a preacher van...

9:42am Thursday 28th August 2008

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A COUNTY vicar is going mobile with the help of his VW camper van in a bid to get to know his parishioners better.

The Rev Simon Lockett is in charge of the Golden Valley area of Herefordshire, which includes Madley, Peterchurch, Turnastone, Vowchurch and Tyberton.

He said: “The parishes are quite scattered in this most rural part of Herefordshire and I live in Madley, probably the most accessible of them all.

“But the problem for a modern-day vicar is not being able to live in all the communities he serves.”

So Simon has come up with the idea of living and working from a 1972 VW camper van for four days.

He will be staying in Turnastone and Vowchurch this week, but will return home in time for his Sunday services.

Mr Lockett added: “I will be packing my bike so I can visit residents in the greenest way possible and we are going to have a good old barbecue on the Friday night to round things off.”

The camper van, which is distinctive by its ‘Rolling Rev’ logo will also double as an office with a mobile phone and laptop.

The idea came from Simon’s previous appointment as a curate in Oxfordshire after he mentioned that rural areas needed a mobile office.

His bishop gave him money towards a camper van. Other funds followed and parishioners recently decided to give him the camper van.