A VICAR whose parish covers four churches is retiring to move away from East Lancashire's rain!

George Darby and his wife Pauline have announced they are leaving St Andrew's Church in Slaidburn, and three others, after nearly four years at the font.

The couple are heading to Cornwall to be nearer to their daughter's family and grandchildren Jessica Eve and Max.

The Reverend will carry out his last service on Sunday, August 16.

He said: "Just before Christmas we were given a second grandchild and grandparenting is calling us.

"We have lived in Cornwall before when I retired for the first time in 1996 and we also miss the warmer climate.

"I was a banker and I started doing voluntary work and auditing all Oxfam's ledgers in South Devon and Cornwall.

"A friend encourage me to be ordained, and I was ordained in Truro and served my curacy in Cornwall, which is like an apprenticeship, and then the job came up here in Lancashire.

"It's a beautiful place and pleasing on the eye.

"I would say quiet but if you saw the motorbikes on a Sunday you wouldn't say that!

"But it is a gorgeous part of the country and it's sad that a lot of people don't know that.

"We will miss the beautiful surroundings but not the cold climate!

"It will be a sad day for us but we have given four years of hard work in our ministry."

Mr Darby has suffered poor health during his time in Lancashire, in fact he only returned to work last February after undergoing a quadruple heart bypass operation in 2013.

He fell ill during a holiday to France, had the life-saving surgery in Blackpool, where he spent 27 days in hospital, before recuperating for three months.

He said: "There's a time in your life when you have to make a decision and at this time it's the pull of grandchildren.

"I'm fine now in terms of health, my quadruple heart operation was a success and I had three kidney stones removed so I though we might as well move nearer the grandchildren while I'm still healthy."

Rev Darby was also in charge of St Bartholomew's in Tosside, St James’ in Dale Head and St George’s in Dunsop Bridge and he says this successor will have their work cut out.

He said: "We have a service in two of the churches every Sunday and in the other two it's once a month.

"So in some weeks it's three services and the next it's two.

"Whoever comes in with have to have plenty of energy and plenty of enthusiasm."