A PACKED cathedral said a final farewell to a clergyman who died last week shortly before he was due to retire.

The Bishop of Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, the Right Reverend Frank Weston, had a reputation as a trouble-shooter, stepping in times of crisis in the Ripon and Leeds diocese.

He led the Anglican Church in the area when former bishop David Young retired, taking control until the Right Reverend John Packer was appointed as a replacement.

He also led an inquiry into allegations about the robust leadership of the Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Methuen, an issue yet to be settled.

At yesterday's funeral service and Requiem Eucharist at Ripon Cathedral, tributes were paid to a man who served the Church of England for 40 years.

"Bishop Weston exercised a remarkable and distinguished ministry in the Church of England, and not least as Bishop of Knaresborough," said the Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Dr David Hope.

Among the mourners were the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, the county's High Sheriff, as well as the mayors of Leeds, Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough.

The service was led by Bishop Packer, the address was given by close friend Canon James Bell - the Director of Mission for the diocese - lessons were read by Bishop Weston's brother, Canon David Weston, and the cathedral's Dean Methuen, while prayers were led by the Archdeacon of Leeds, the Venerable John Oliver.