A NEW rector has been appointed for the Ipsley Team Ministry.

The Rev Canon Wallace Brown, 59, succeeds the Rev Canon Ray Adams, who died in office.

Mr Brown originally comes from Newcastle and before ordination was a chartered engineer working as a gas district engineer in Sheffield.

He was also a construction engineer for 14 years on the gas pipelines from the North Sea rigs to the cities of the UK.

He was ordained deacon in 1979 and priest the following year. He served a curacy in Leicester Diocese and became vicar of Quinton, Birmingham, in 1985.

Together with his wife, Mary, he wrote a book about his experience of working on estates in Birmingham entitled Angels on the Walls.

Mr Brown said: "Mary and I have really enjoyed working in Birmingham but we're now looking forward to the exciting challenge of working alongside the team in Redditch."

Canon Brown was instituted by the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby, on September 16.