THE Bishop of Hereford has called on churchgoers to help make poverty history.

In a letter to parishioners, the Rt Rev Anthony Priddis says that they can help stop the suffering of the world's poorest people.

"I'm challenging our churchgoers in the same way Nelson Mandela challenged all of us when he said, 'Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that generation'," said Bishop Anthony.

"It's not too late to let your MP know how we feel about this issue."

The Bishop covers the three main areas of the Make Poverty History campaign - fair trade, increasing the British aid budget and wiping out national debt for the world's poorest countries.

The letter will arrive through doors around the time that four coaches leave the diocese on their way to Edinburgh carrying protesters to the G8 summit, where world leaders will be discussing poverty in Africa and climate change.

"We want, we need to do what we can to stop this suffering," he said. "Can our generation be great?"