The Bishop whose diocese covers most of Lancashire has urged affluent Anglicans in the county to take backstreet tours to see how poorer communities live.

The Bishop Of Blackburn, Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, launched a Back Street Tourism' plan in a bid to "lessen the divide."

The Bishop launched the plan at a Blackburn Diocesan Synod meeting in Preston in response to an inter-church report, Faithful Cities, published earlier this year.

Faithful Cities, a major report by the Commission on Urban Life and Faith, intends to stimulate discussion and action among those who live in urban areas.

The bishop, whose diocese takes in over 200 parishes across Lancashire, said: "I think that it is very, very easy with so many reports to read them and then dismiss them.

"I really wanted to bring the report down to a local level so it would mean something.

"I want people to take the report seriously and engage with everyone in the community.

"The report tackles a very English temptation to look at what we imagine to be unpleasant and to turn away.

"It challenges us, each in our own way, we engage with what we find difficult."

Lancashire's Church of England leaders were advised by the Bishop to "try some alternative tourism' swap statistics, hear stories, learn the issues, pray as you go".

Martyn Halsall, Blackburn Diocesan communications director said: "There is a far too greater a divide between the rich and poor.

"The Bishop's Back Street Tourism Plan' is about how we can lessen this divide."

The Bishop said: "More affluent parishes might spend an afternoon in the backstreets, preferably using local people as guides.

"Central to the report was the idea of faithful capital,' which saw the Christian church and other faith communities as a resource, grounded in sustained commitment to needy areas.

"This might involve declaring war on loan sharks through the establishment of a credit union, or enhancing your visiting programme.

"It might mean attempting close links with young people, identified as some of the most depressed in Europe."

He added: "It is a simple practical Christianity and is the kind of thing that we must all be engaging in."

Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, welcomed the Bishop's plan.

He said: "I think it is important to work with people on a grass routes level in deprived areas. It is some-thing to be welcomed.

"At the Councill of Mosques we work closely with all faiths, including Christianity, and it will be a positive step for the community."