St Mary's Parish Church in Burley-in-Wharfedale has paid a fond farewell to its vicar of the last nine years.

The Reverend Peter Sutcliffe gave his final service to the

village on Sunday ahead of his move only a few miles south to Yeadon, where he will take over as priest-in-charge at St Andrew's Church.

A diehard Bradford City FC fan, Mr Sutcliffe says he is relishing the prospect of a new

challenge and has vowed to

continue making the journey to Valley Parade at weekends to

support his club.

But in an emotional last message given through St Mary's Parish Magazine, he lists all the things he will miss about Burley.

Looking back on the many Christenings, marriages and funerals he has conducted over nearly a decade in the village, he said: "I can't help thinking about the people who've been part of my daily life, as together we've struggled to make sense of the world through the eyes of faith; through the great life moments of birth, death and all stations in between and in the sheer ordinariness of daily life.

"Those things and more besides are part of a priest's life and I wouldn't miss them for the world. To have experienced them here, and with you, I count a

privilege indeed."

Mr Sutcliffe, 44, his wife Alison, and their two children, Clare, 20, and Tim, 18, will all move in to

St Andrew's Vicarage this

month.

He will begin his new post in Yeadon on Monday, April 7. At St Mary's, meanwhile, the Curate, the Reverend Roger Brookes has taken over proceedings until a new vicar is announced.