A church where the vicar quit in mysterious circumstances last summer still does not know whether it will get a replacement.

St Richard's Church in Collingwood Road, Maybridge, Worthing, has been without a priest since the sudden resignation of Father Robert Marsh.

At the time, the Bishop of Horsham, the Right Reverend Lindsay Urwin, declined to reveal why Fr Marsh had left so abruptly and advised church wardens not to comment.

Fr Marsh was vicar of St Richard's for just over two years and lived at the vicarage in The Boulevard.

Shortly before Christmas, churchwarden Dorothy Knowles wrote to the Bishop, outlining churchgoers' views about the future of the parish.

Her letter prompted a meeting with senior clergymen but no firm commitments were made.

Mrs Knowles said: "They have still got to decide what they want to do.

"Very few parishes have their own priest. They are now put on five-year contracts.

"Whether we will share a priest, we just don't know.

"We have kept going very well. We have had a rota of local priests who attend to our services on Wednesdays and Sundays."

The vicarage is being refurbished, with new carpets, redecoration, kitchen units and a replacement boiler. The cost is being met by the diocese and is not coming out of parish funds.