A WOMEN'S prison chaplain will become vicar of parish churches in Stourport and Wilden in the autumn.

Rev Eva McIntyre succeeds Rev Barry Gilbert at St Michael and All Angels, Stourport and All Saints, Wilden.

She said: "I'm delighted to be coming to Stourport and Wilden in September.

"I'm really looking forward to getting to know the people and places and to be part of the communities.

"For the last three years, I've been a prison chaplain, working at HMP Brockhill, a women's prison in Redditch.

"Previously in my career, I have worked in parishes, for Christian Aid and the BBC in religious broadcasting and I'm really looking forward to getting back to parish work and to being part of the community."

She said she was "passionate" about justice issues, both at home and overseas, adding: "I care very much about the environment, the welfare of the planet and all the species living on it.

"I've been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old and love to grow my own fruit and vegetables.

"In my spare time, I paint, sculpt and write - fiction and songs."

Angela Randle, a churchwarden at Wilden, said: "We look forward with excitement to the beginning of a new chapter for the parishes."

Mr Gilbert left the parishes in February to take up a post in Brierley Hill.