A DISGRACED bishop jailed for a string of sex attacks on teenagers and young men has died.

Peter Ball, 87, committed a catalogue of numerous offences against vulnerable victims for decades.

Ball, a one-time friend of Prince Charles, who lived in Aller, near Langport, was sent to prison in 2015 after admitting attacking 18 people.

The Church of England has confirmed his death and offered "prayers and thoughts" for everyone involved".

The Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Hancock, the CofE's safeguarding lead, said: "We have been made aware of the death of Peter Ball and our prayers and thoughts are with everyone affected by this news."

Ball was Bishop of Lewes from 1977 to 1992 and then Bishop of Gloucester until his resignation in 1993 after his abuse came to light.

He was jailed at the Old Bailey for 32 months in October 2015 and was freed after serving 16 months.

An independent inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse concluded that Ball "was able to sexually abuse vulnerable teenagers and young men for decades".

At the same hearing, Prince Charles gave a written statement in which he expressed "deep personal regret" for believing Ball's denials of any wrongdoing when reports of his crimes first emerged.