An unexpected visitor in the vestry at Possett

The chapel at Possett has welcomed a good many visitors since 1878, but Sunday morning brought the first to arrive by coal hole and fall asleep on the second-best cushion.

Mrs Enid Copplestone, who unlocks on a Sunday, opened the vestry door at twenty past nine and found an otter on the cushion in a manner she described as proprietorial. It had come in through the old coal-hole hatch, which has been letting in draughts, leaves and now wildlife since roughly the Coronation. The vestry smelled distinctly of river.

Rev'd Paul Thompson arrived to find three stewards standing at a respectful distance, none of them sure of the correct procedure. Percy Hallows walked down with a tin of sardines and the matter resolved itself in under four minutes. The otter followed the tin out through the porch and slid into the brook without a word of thanks.

The Wildlife Trust say otters are best left to go home by themselves, and were pleased to hear of a healthy one on that stretch of water. Mrs Copplestone is pleased for the brook, and would like her cushion looked at.

The hatch now has a proper catch, fitted by the Running Repairs Group, who report that it took eleven minutes and should have been done in 1974. Evening services at Possett continue as usual at half past six.