THE Cathedral ferry has returned to the river with the Dean of Worcester blessing the boat on its first crossing of the summer.

Martin Gallagher, aged 74, marked the return of the service by rowing the Dean across the River Severn on Saturday, April 15.

The boat crosses between the Worcester Cathedral riverbank and Chapter Meadows, on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The service will be running daily for the Three Choirs Festival, from Saturday, July 22 to Saturday, July 29.

The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester, said: "This is the first crossing of the season.

"This is the site of the old monks' ferry and has history which goes back hundreds of years. The monks had land on the other side of the river.

"The ferry was reinstated in 1983 and it raises money for good causes."

It costs 40p to cross the river and proceeds go to local charities, with past recipients including St Richard's Hospice and Maggs Day Centre.

"The Cathedral ferry operates every year during the summer months. The first day is always Holy Saturday, before Easter Sunday," Mr Atkinson added.

Mr Gallagher, a ferryman for the Cathedral, said: "We have at least eight of us including myself that do it on a rota basis.

"We start today and finish on the Sunday of the second week of September.

"The boat is called Doris. The woman who gave it to us was called Doris. I think it was a lifeboat from an ocean-going vessel."

Mr Gallagher, of Ombersley Road, Worcester, has been a ferryman for the Cathedral for 14 years, despite being an atheist.

"My wife read an advert for a ferryman and thought it would be a good idea," he said.

"The last time I had a cleric onboard was the Bishop of Dudley."

The ferry service is restricted to the summer because of changing river levels and falling demand in the colder seasons.

The ferry operated daily for centuries until the late 1950s and was restarted in 1983.