A parish clergyman and her husband will visit the Sudan to strengthen links between two dioceses.

Rev Jenny Savage, from Haworth Parish Church, her husband Ed and Rev Paul Bilton, set off to the African country today for a three-week exchange trip.

They will be representing the Bradford Diocese on an annual trip to visit the Diocese of Khartoum.

During the trip they will meet church representatives from the diocese, speak to members of the mothers' union and visit Khartoum, El Obeid, Kadugli and Port Sudan.

Rev Savage said: "We hope to be going to meet all the church people and to learn about the lives of the students, who came here, and how they survive.

"We have an annual trip and the diocese sends about three people on a kind of exchange trip.

"We will be welcoming people from Sudan into this country later on in the year."

Strong community links have existed between Bradford and churches in Northern Sudan, but they were strengthened four years ago following a visit by then Bishop of Bradford the Rt Rev David Smith.

And more than £40,000 has been raised to support projects in Sudan.

It is the first such trip for Rev Savage. She said: "It will be a new experience for me. We are very much looking forward to it. We have obviously met with one of two people who have been studying in England.

"We are looking forward to meeting them again to see how they are getting on. It will be good to see how Christians are getting on with Muslims and see how the peace process is going.

"Hopefully the trip will strengthen the links between the two dioceses. The Bradford Diocese supports many projects in Sudan and we can recommend what projects we continue to support."