A SENIOR local Pagan has denied any "occult" connection with the gruesome grave-robbing incident in Bircle.

The high priest of a Bury-based Wiccan temple says the horrific attack - which saw the head of a woman removed from a grave - was more likely the work of "Satanists or vandals".

"The occult covers a lot of areas, from tarot cards and astrology through to our Wiccan covens," said the high priest, known as Spartacus III.

"Nobody in those circles would do such a thing - it is certainly completely against a Pagan's beliefs."

Spartacus III is the High Priest of the Temple of Eshtartan Im Karnaran, which has a number of followers in the area.

"This kind of desecration is more the style of freelance Satanists or just mindless vandals," he said.

After last week's attack at St John the Baptist Church at Bircle, a spokesman for the family described it as "an evil act" and would not rule out an "occult" connection.

Wiccan Pagans follow an ancient, pre-Christian religious belief based on nature worship and have no connection with Satanism or Devil-worship.

Church authorities and the police, who are investigating the desecration, would not speculate on a motive last week.

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