OPPORTUNITIES for prayer and quiet contemplation are available to Wyre Forest people in the wake of this week's unprecedented terrorist attacks in America.

Canon James Samuel said Kidderminster's St Mary's Church would be open today and tomorrow from 1pm to 4pm and Saturday from 10.30am to 4pm, and from 9am to 12.30pm on Sunday, for prayer and candle lighting.

And Kidderminster House of Prayer has arranged for St John's School in Blakebrook, Kidderminster, to be open tomorrow from 7.30pm until midnight for the same purpose.

The Bishop of Worcester, Rt Rev Peter Selby, who lives at Hartlebury Castle, said he shared in "the horror and perplexity" of Tuesday's attacks.

"I ask all Christian people to join in prayer for those whose lives have been torn apart by what has happened," he added.

"I hope people will not leap to conclusions before we know the answers to many questions."

Meanwhile, a Kidderminster dental expert midway through a charity cycle ride in the USA has been unharmed by the disaster.

Consultant orthodontist Chris Gait, who is in the middle of a 3,250-mile ride from Seattle to Boston in aid of Kemp Hospice, is now planning to return early with his family, who are following his journey in a mobile home.

And a minute's silence will be held at all county fire stations, including Kidderminster, at 11am on Friday.

The silence is in memory of the 300 New York firefighters who are believed to have died or been seriously injured in the rescue operation outside the World Trade Centre.