Worshippers prayed in a church for 93 years, unaware that it had never officially been made a house of God.

A simple oversight meant that the Roman Catholic St Hilda's Church, in Southwick, Sunderland, was never consecrated by the Roman Catholic Church.

Its present priest, Father Cornelius O'Connor, realised the blunder and set about putting it right.

Experts say that an unconsecrated church is just a building and cannot truly be called a place of worship.

The matter has now been resolved after the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Right Reverend Ambrose Griffiths, visited St Hilda's for a long-overdue ceremony.

Almost 500 worshippers, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Sunderland, watched as he anointed the walls with holy oil and blessed the building.

Father O'Connor said: "It is highly unusual for a church to go without being consecrated. I have not heard of this happening before."

But Father O'Connor stressed that weddings, blessings and christenings that took place at St Hilda's were still valid.

He said: "Sacraments and ceremonies such as weddings are still valid because they were carried out by priests."