THE Bishop of Blackburn today slammed Posh and Becks' lust for publicity -- and the celebrity culture which could leave their lives in tatters.

The Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, who diocese covers the whole of East Lancashire, said the desire to create idols was damaging society.

Bishop Reade said he felt some sympathy for celebrities, such as David and Victoria Beckham, saying they were "poor souls" who are "built up to be knocked down."

But he criticised their pursuit of power and celebrity status.

The Bishop, who is two months into his tenure overseeing the Anglican church in the county, said society's obsession with the individual was also ruining communities.

He said: "There is so much focus on the individual. I am not happy about it. I am not happy about anyone becoming an idol, I don't think it's good for them or society.

"You begin to lose the sense of community when you are just focusing on the individual. I think community is so important.

"It's not altogether their fault, the media build them up. They build them to be knocked down. The poor souls are left with their lives in tatters afterwards.

"I think they get on a treadmill and it's almost impossible to get off that treadmill.

"They end up getting almost a lust for power and publicity and the more they have the more they want.

"It's partly the fault of the celebrities themselves, a large part the media and also society as a whole.

"We have always needed heroes, if we look back in history to some one like Winston Churchill, we all needed him.

"But somehow we all needed big figures in the past for a different reason then today."

Bishop Reade, 56, a father-of-one who hails from Sussex, was ordained as the eighth Bishop of Blackburn in front of 1,000 people York Minster in April.

Speaking from his new home, Bishop's House, in Salesbury, Ribble Valley, he described how he has spent his initial period of his term visiting the "four corners" of the diocese which stretches from Todmorden to the Cumbrian borders.

He described his delight at meeting new people and groups in the Diocese and said helping to create a greater sense of community was one of his main objectives.