Denholme town councillors have criticised a Keighley News story which branded the village 'Godless'.

At a council meeting on Tuesday evening Mayor Russell Driver criticised the headline 'Godless Denholme' which appeared over a story on page 1 of last week's Keighley News. He said the headline was 'disappointing' after the spate of negative publicity which the town has received recently.

The story highlighted the situation at struggling St Paul's Church in Denholme. It featured the Rev Elizabeth Thomas' call in the church magazine for more support from parishioners in the quest for a new place of worship.

Cllr Driver said the article was a blow to Denholme which is trying to rebuild its image after stories had suggested the community had a drugs problem.

He said the article would also make it more difficult for the church to attract sponsorship from individuals and companies.

There was also criticism from councillors Phil Dore, Barbara Rayner and Anne Jay who all branded the headline 'a disgrace'.

Keighley News Editor Malc-olm Hoddy was asked to attend the meeting to hear the complaints, which he did. He defended the newspaper's coverage.

He also told members of the town council that the number of positive articles about Denholme which had appeared in the Keighley News far outweighed the negative.

Also speaking at the town council meeting, the Rev Thomas said it was the headline and not the content of the story that she objected to. She said: "I did not say that Denholme was a Godless place, which the headline implies I said. In fact I think Denholme is a good place to live."

The Rev Thomas was keen to emphasise her gratitude to those who had raised money for the church and to emphasise the strong links St Paul's had forged with Denholme Edge Church.

She met the Bishop of Bradford this week to discuss the future of the church, which is currently looking for a new place of worship. The 'Minster on the Hill' was closed in June last year due to dry rot, and since then parishioners have been meeting in the Mechanics Institute.

The Rev Thomas will reveal the outcome of the meeting to parishioners when they meet for worship on Sunday.

Vicar's statement and

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