A HEREFORDSHIRE vicar has been sacked after a Church of England tribunal found him guilty of unacceptable behaviour.

The Bishop of Hereford, The Rt Revd Richard Jackson, said Bromyard vicar Revd Clive Evans had behaved in a completely unacceptable way.

But the detail of the misconduct has not yet been made public, with The Church of England yet to publish its tribunal decision.

But the Diocese of Hereford said the decision was that Revd Evans, of St Peter's Church in Bromyard, is banned from any office in the Church of England for six months.

It means he was sacked from his post in Bromyard with immediate effect.

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The Bishop of Hereford, The Rt Revd Richard Jackson, said: "The behaviour of Revd Evans is completely unacceptable, and we will be keeping all those affected by this case in our prayers.

"Clergy are in a privileged position of leadership. Their congregations and the wider community hold them in trust. The professional guidelines to which they are bound [to] make clear that this is a trust that they must not abuse.

"The behaviour and actions of Revd Evans are in no way reflective of acceptable church practice.

"We fully support the findings of the tribunal and the decision to apply the penalty to remove him from office, which takes immediate effect."

Initially suspended from all duties in April 2019, the Diocese of Hereford said at the time it was so "an enquiry can be carried out in relation to a complaint" that had been received".

It also said Rev Evans was "unable to have contact with anyone in the parish, or carry out any church engagements".

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The Rt Revd Richard Jackson added: "We recognise that there will be many individuals left feeling very hurt by this lengthy process, including the congregation at St Peter's Bromyard.

"We intend to work in partnership with the church community and seek healing and reconciliation for all the individuals affected. My prayer is that through the unfailing grace of God, we can find peace and a way forward in our faith."

A diocese spokesperson said: "We commend the bravery of those who brought these allegations forward and acknowledge how difficult this would have been.

"We apologise unreservedly to them for what has happened and for what they have experienced.

"As a diocese, we take the safety and wellbeing of everyone very seriously and have robust safeguarding procedures in place."

In addition to the panel's penalty decision, an anonymity order was made, so it is illegal to name or identify the victims in this case.