EVANGELICAL clown priest Roly Bain took his ministry of fun to school pupils during a rare visit to Yorkshire.

Mr Bain, who was a priest before he became a clown, performed for students at Ashville College, in Harrogate.

He has clowned all over the UK, across the US and in Canada, Australia, Sweden, France, Belgium and Holland.

All of his routines have some Christian basis, story or punchline.

Ashville College's headteacher, Andrew Fleck, said: "Roly's act has won plaudits across the world for getting across serious messages in a fun way.

"We were delighted that his unique form of 'infotainment' came to the school for what was an assembly with a difference, and one in which we added a new dimension to the way we develop the skills, knowledge and experience of our students."

Mr Bain was ordained into the Church of England in 1978, went to circus school in 1990 and subsequently was voted International Clown of the Year in 1994.

He won the International Slapstick Award five years later.