THE leader of the Church of England will visit Herefordshire in the autumn as he goes on a three-day tour of the diocese.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, will focus on the work by the Bishop of Hereford, who retires later this year.

Rt Revd Richard Frith's mission in Hereford over the past five years has been to inspire people to follow Jesus Christ, with the diocese wanting to re-imagine the work of the church for the 21st Century.

He said: "We are proud and delighted that the Archbishop has chosen to visit us in the Hereford Diocese.

"Across Shropshire and Herefordshire, our churches are doing some inspirational work to share the good news of Jesus Christ and we're excited to share with the Archbishop what is being achieved with some tremendous hard work and enthusiasm from our churches and parishioners."

The Archbishop's visit, from October 14-16, will see him meet a wide range of people and be a part of the mission of the Hereford Diocese, which has 420 churches from Ross-on-Wye in the south to Telford in the north.

The full itinerary will be released later in the summer, but will include an evening in conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury at The Courtyard Theatre on Monday, October 14.