A VICAR was so horrified by an article in a church newspaper that he decided to send hundreds of copies of it to the shredder. The Rev Stewart Hartley was annoyed that the Blackburn Diocese monthly, The See, carried a story which 'glorified' the National Lottery.

Mr Hartley, vicar of St Philip's and St John's parish, Nelson, is strongly opposed to the lottery.

He believes it tempts the poor to gamble away their money, and he says it is wrong for churches to apply for lottery grants.

On the front page of this month's See, under the headline 'Lottery Boost', is a story about a parish in Preston which has been given a £1.2 million grant to fund a building project.

The paper is usually distributed with St Philip's own church magazine, but parishioners received no copy this month. Instead there was a message from the vicar explaining why he had withheld the publication.

He wrote: "If you have read my articles over the recent past you will have noticed my opposition to the National Lottery and all the misery it is causing to the poor as children go without because parents grasp at straws to get themselves out of poverty traps.

"Even worse is when the church, which should trust to God to provide for our needs, applies for lottery money to finance its projects. God cannot bless His church when we steal the children's bread."

Mr Hartley told the Citizen: "Many people in the poverty trap try to solve their problems by spending money on the lottery.

"Our curate has been approached by distressed mothers saying, 'Can't you do something to stop my husband - he is spending all our money on the lottery and I have nothing to feed the children."

He said it was wrong for The See to publish stories giving obvious support for the lottery when churches were divided on the issue. He has written to the editor.

Any of Mr Hartley's parishioners who want a copy of The See must ask the vicar for one.

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