LEOMINSTER'S conjuring vicar 'Magic Mark' Townsend is urging townspeople to join him at his final service in the Priory Church before he takes up a new post in another parish.

Mr Townsend, whose blend of showmanship and faith made him a popular figure, is to conduct his last Leominster service on May 27 (10am) just a week before he marries his fiancee Jodie Thompson at the church. The couple are moving to Weston-under-Penyard near Ross-on-Wye where Mr Townsend will care for a group of rural parishes.

"I've got to know so many Leominster folk over the last eight years and my last service will be a chance to say goodbye, " he said. " I have had the privilege of baptising hundreds of Leominster little ones, marrying hundreds of Leominster couples, and conducting funerals for hundreds of Leominster families. This all make you feel very close to a community."