A CURATE, who became the youngest reverend in the Church of England when he took up his post at St John’s Church in Devizes, has said his farewells.

Ben Rundell-Evans, 24, who became assistant curate of St John with St Mary in 2016, has now been appointed as priest-in-charge of Upper Stour on the Wiltshire and Dorset border.

Devizes town clerk Simon Fisher presented him with a framed aerial picture of the town.

Rundell-Evans said: “I have very much enjoyed my time here. My wife, Megan, and I, married a week before we moved here, and so Devizes will always be a special place for us as our first home.”

Mr Rundell-Evans needed a special faculty from an Archbishop when he became a deacon as he was so young.

But he has thrown himself into parish life in Devizes supporting the rector Canon Paul Richardson.

He said: “During my time here I have been a part of many exciting things including, a trip to Latvia with the choir.” A new curate will take up their post early in 2020.