A RETIRED Church of England priest has been jailed for six years following sexual offences dating back to the early 1980s.

The Rev Geoffrey Cooke was found guilty of eight offences against a boy aged under 15 during a trial in November.

Sentencing Cooke at Taunton Crown Court, Judge Graham Hume Jones said his crimes had had a lasting effect on his victim.

Cooke faces a Church disciplinary procedure and is likely to be banned from taking to the pulpit ever again.

FOR the full story and reaction, see Thursday's Somerset County Gazette.