FOUR new churchwardens have been elected to the fractured parish of Sundridge with Ide Hill.

In the latest twist to the ongoing saga of embattled rector Reverend David Attwood, the new quartet – which includes his wife Gillian – was voted in during an explosive annual vestry meeting.

Mrs Attwood, Kirsty Oliver, Michelle Campbell and John Grundy will take over the running of the church, just weeks after the congregation was rocked by the resignation of the four incumbents following a long dispute over Mr Attwood's conduct.

Penelope Jane Belle, Trevor Champ, Roger Flint and Michael Moore quit at the beginning of the year, insisting they could no longer work with the vicar.

The rector, who returned in January after nine months of absence, presided over the meeting on Thursday, along with the Diocese of Rochester's rural dean, Mark Griffin.

Mrs Belle's husband Nigel challenged Mr Griffin to explain why Mr Attwood "forced four elected churchwardens to resign when they have only served eight months out of their allotted 12."

Following this, parishioner Bruce Walker claimed the four incumbent churchwardens' resignation has not been formally accepted by the Bishop of Rochester, branding the election as "bizarre".

But Mr Griffin refused to address these points, describing them as "historical" and insisting the parish moves forward, noting that he and the vicar had accepted the resignations themselves.

Following the almost-unanimous election, Mr Attwood told the Chronicle: "I'm very pleased to have elected these people and very keen to move forward in a positive way. I want to put what's happened behind us."

And Mr Grundy said he was "looking forward to the future" for the church.

He added: "What's happened, with these rows and resignations, is very sad. David is a wonderful man and he has been so ganged up on. We all have a lot of love for him. The church will be run very differently now."

But Mr Belle was unconvinced. He said: "Unfortunately, this is an extremely fractured parish and it gets worse and worse.

"I wish these new churchwardens nothing but the best. They're all good people and I'm sure they will do a wonderful job. But this doesn't change the fact four hard-working churchwardens are no longer with us. It's an incredibly distressing situation."