VILLAGERS have welcomed a new rector to her post at a ceremony in a village church near Darlington.

The Reverend Michelle Ferguson was inducted as rector of Hurworth and Dinsdale with Sockburn at All Saints Church, in Hurworth, on Sunday.

Parishioners then enjoyed refreshments in the Grange Community Centre, in Croft Road.

Mrs Ferguson, a mother of four, from Canada, previously worked as a curate in Heighington.

She said: "I've always worked as a voluntary priest in the past, so this is the first time I'll have the responsibility that comes with a full appointment. It is a greater challenge, but one that I am ready for. The people in the parishes are a great bunch and have been in touch to offer their support."

The former rector of Hurworth, the Reverend Roy Graham, retired at the end of 2002.