THE RECTOR of Sidmouth Parish Church hopes to be conducting the first Sunday service in the newly re-ordered church on Sunday, December 13.

THE RECTOR of Sidmouth Parish Church hopes to be conducting the first Sunday service in the newly re-ordered church on Sunday, December 13.

Reverend Prebendary David James said: "The scaffolding is more or less all removed now and the redecoration nearly complete.

"The new floor looks fantastic. Furniture is due to begin to arrive towards the end of this month. The heating will soon be tested and the electrics are also nearly finished.

"In due course we shall be considering the options the new lighting will give us."

He quashed rumours that a number of bodies had been found during extensive renovation works, calling it "a case of Chinese whispers".

He said vaults were found which did contain coffins "but as we didn't open the vaults there was no problem about re-burial."

Mr James added: "A few fragments of remains - very few given the size of the site - were unearthed in the course of the works and they have since been re-interred with prayer in the small crypt we used to use for the interment of ashes and that has now been sealed."

He said Victorians did a similar job when they re-built the church in 1859 so the site had been "pretty much cleared" at that time.