A FORMER rector at a Worcestershire church has been leading prayers for two children who tragically died while on holiday in Corfu.

The Rev Clifford Owen has been taking services on the Greek island for Christianne Shepherd, aged seven and her brother, Robert, six, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a hotel bedroom.

Mr Owen, formerly of St Kenelms Church, Clifton upon Teme, has been spotted on TV comforting mourners.

A spokesman for the local church said: "He left here in 2002. Prayers have been said for the children and their family because of the link."

The father of the two children, Neil Shepherd, aged 38, of Horbury, West Yorkshire, returned to Britain with his girlfriend, Ruth Beaston, aged 27, yesterday.

They were seriously ill after being overcome by gas fumes at their holiday bungalow at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel last week.

It is believed that the fumes came from a faulty boiler or air-conditioning system.

The bodies of the children were brought back to Brtain on Monday.

Their mother, Sharon Wood, aged 35, who had flown to Corfu to identify them, returned with them.

Greek authorities suspended the permit of the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel on Tuesday.