CHILDREN'S charity, the NSPCC, has criticised the Church of England after a vicar was jailed for sex offences against a 15-year-old girl.

Stephen Crabtree, 59, (pictured) of Ollerdale Avenue, Allerton, Bradford, was last month jailed for three years after admitting offences which took place in the early 1990s. He twice admitted the offences to a bishop but was not arrested until 2015.

The Bishop of Lincoln, The Rt Rev Christopher Lowson, said after the case: "It is deeply shameful that the Church's past handling of the allegation fell well short of the expectations at the time."

An NSPCC spokesman said today: “This is the latest in a series of sex abuse cases which have been overlooked by senior members of the Church of England, and exposes a worrying lack of action when grave allegations were made.

“It takes great courage for victims of abuse to come forward, and they must be able to do so in the knowledge they will be taken seriously.

“The Church needs to change the way it handles abuse claims and protects children to ensure a situation like this does not happen again.

“We hope lessons will be learned from the ongoing Church of England inquiry into this case.

“We would urge anyone concerned about a child, or who is the victim of abuse, to call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.”