PRAYERS are being said for much loved clergywoman Beth Brown who is still in intensive care after being involved in a fatal accident in Oxfordshire as she drove her from visiting her father on his 90th birthday.

The Rev Brown, who lives in the vicarage in Bishops Cannings, near Devizes, was critically injured in the accident at Langford in Oxfordshire on December 23.

She is still in the intensive care unit of John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford where she is being treated for serious internal injuries. She had been due to take both the Christingle service at St Mary The Virgin Church, Bishops Cannings on Christmas Eve and services on Christmas day but instead parishoners were shocked to hear the news of her accident.

Thames Valley Police have appealed for witnesses to the accident which happened at about 3pm on a Saturday. Ms Brown's white Ford Fiesta was involved in a collision with a grey MG ZR on the A361. The 30-year-old man driving the MG died at the scene. The road was closed for about four hours.

Churchwarden Peter Russ said: "The accident has been a huge shock for everyone. Beth has not been in the village for that long but she has had a big impact on the parish and is much loved.

"She is not well enough to have visitors but we are all thinking about her and praying for her. She is in a very serious condition and if she survives will need extensive surgery."

Parents and pupils at Bishops Cannings Primary, where Ms Brown is a governor, were told about the accident in a newsletter and the school community is also praying for her.

Ms Brown, who is a retired teacher, is an associate priest at Bishops Cannings. Her duties are being undertaken by a number of retired members of the clergy who live in the area.