TRIBUTES have been paid to a much-loved vicar who has died suddenly and unexpectedly.

Canon Martin Onions, vicar of Holy Cross Uckfield and Rural Dean of Uckfield Deanery, was admitted to hospital on Thursday night and died the following morning.

The Very Rev Onions was ordained in 1988 and served all of his ministry within the Diocese of Chichester.

A planned Pentecost celebration this weekend with a lit beacon has been cancelled as a mark of respect and a book of thanks and remembrance has been opened in the parish church of Holy Cross, Uckfield.

The church will be open for residents wishing to inscribe the book and pray for Martin and his family.

Dr Martin Warner, the Bishop of Chichester, has paid tribute to the respected priest describing him as a “well-known and much loved figure” in the Diocese.

Dr Warner said: “It is with profound sadness that we have announced Martin’s death today. In the shock of this news our immediate thoughts and prayers are with Martin’s wife Gill, their family, and the parish and people of Uckfield.

“We give thanks for the vitality of his life and Christian witness, commending him to the God he served so faithfully.

“Martin, may you rest in peace and rise and in glory.”