THE Rev. Jeff Radcliffe has been appointed Upton's new rector.

Mr Radcliffe, 54, has been ordained for 26 years, and is currently rector of four parishes in Cumbria.

He will be moving to Upton with his wife Rosie, who is also ordained, shortly after Easter.

Although neither are familiar with the area Mr Radcliffe said they were looking forward to getting to know and working with local residents.

"This will be brand new for us, a voyage of discovery," he said.

"All the people we've met so far have been fantastic and we're very excited about the project."

Mr Radcliffe replaces The Rev. Chris Hardwick, who left Upton in August to become the Dean of Truro Cathedral, in Cornwall.

He hopes to continue his predecessor's good work in the parish.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how we can build the community of faith and explore ways of moving forward together," he said.