A new dream team has been put together at Malmesbury Abbey.

The vicar, Rev Neill Archer, has added three people to his pastoral line-up, who share his outward-looking style of helping the wider community.

That philosphy has included forming an ambitious plan with Christian Skaters UK, which was aimed at attracting teenagers into church by turning the inside of the abbey into a skate park, cafe and live music venue for three days.

The three new faces are associate minister, the Rev Katie Windle, curate,the Rev Lee Barnes and youth worker Paul Tilley.

Mrs Windle, formerly a vicar in Bath, came to Malmesbury when her husband got a job at Dyson.

She said: “I used to be a curate in Hullavington and during that time I came to know Neill, and when we moved to Malmesbury I phoned him and asked if he had a role for me.

“I will be assisting Neill in his vision to build bridges between the communities in Malmesbury.

“I will also become the chaplain for Malmesbury Primary school in January.”

Mr Barnes, from Derby, has spent the last ten years in Bristol pursuing his passion of working with ex-offenders and the homeless.

He said: “I was drawn to Malmesbury Abbey as it operates as a very forward thinking church and is looking to transform its image of an irrelevant historical site to a place where people will feel comfortable to come inside and have a chat.”

Mr Tilley grew up in Dudley and moved to Malmesbury in July from his previous children’s ministry on Dartmoor.

He has been working with young people since he was 18.

“My vision for the youth here is to be outwardly focused into the Malmesbury communities.

“I was very impressed by the skate park initiative back in February and I want to encourage that kind of thing and find other ways to engage with the youth in the area and show them that the abbey is not just a nice building but a place where they can feel secure enough to find out more about God.”

The trio will take up their jobs within the coming weeks.