When the Reverend Carol Stone took to the pulpit in Swindon on Sunday she was making history as Britain's first sex-change vicar. She has been applauded by many in the church for her bravery and has the backing of her bishop. But, as IAN FANNON reports, there are others who will never accept her need for a new identity.

SENIOR clergyman Andrew Hetherington has spoken of his opposition to the decision to allow the Reverend Carol Stone to remain in the church.

And he claims to represent the view of many Christians who have so far remained silent on the issue.

The Reverend Hetherington, team rector for the West Swindon and Lydiards parish, believes gender re-assignment is against Christian morals.

He says Ms Stone who was called Peter Stone before his operation this summer should stand down from the ministry.

Mr Hetherington has made his views public after fellow church leaders in his parish which includes Baptist, Church of England, Methodist and United Reformed Church denominations said they shared his concern.

The churches in the parish are Holy Trinity Church in Shaw, All Saints in Lydiard Millicent, St Mary's in Lydiard Tregoze, Toothill Church and Westlea Church.

Ms Stone made her first public appearance since the operation on Sunday when she returned to the pulpit at St Philip's Church in Stratton St Margaret.

She received a standing ovation from the 100-strong congregation, who have fully backed her decision along with the Bishop of Bristol, the Right Reverend Barry Rogerson.

But Mr Hetherington, vicar of Holy Trinity Church, said: "In my pastoral ministry, there are people I meet who have deep inner urges which it would be wrong to give in to, such as harming themselves.

"I'm not suggesting her urges should have been suppressed, but that she should have sought help and counselling instead of going ahead with the operation.

"If she was still unhappy, she should, as a Christian, have accepted that not everything can be put right in this world.

"She may feel better now, but people often say they feel better on drugs in the long run, what has changed? She is still 80 per cent male."

Mr Hetherington said he was disappointed that the clergy in Swindon were not asked their opinion on the issue before Bishop Rogerson gave it his approval.

He claimed that after the historic announcement was made, at least 20 clergymen from across the town expressed their disagreement with her decision to the Bishop.

"I have deep compassion for someone with such inner urges, but this should not be acceptable in the Christian faith and she should stand down," he said.

"We're still part of a society that needs moral boundaries, otherwise society devolves into selfishness. Her action was largely selfish.

"As a Christian leader, she should have set an example, because our leaders need to uphold moral standards and she has failed in this duty."

The Evangelical Alliance, a national church organisation representing one million Christians in Britain, has also condemned gender re-assignment.

A member of the alliance, Swindon pastor John Tait, from the King's Christian Centre in Old Town, said: "If she'd been in our alliance, she wouldn't have been allowed to retain ministerial status.

"There has been a lot of publicity supporting her decision, but it needs some Christian balance, because the Church of England is way out on a limb on this issue."

Ms Stone declined to respond, but a spokesman for the Bristol diocese, the Reverend Stephen Oram, said there was no question of her standing down.

He said: "This is an issue about gender redesignation and not about Carol Stone. If clergy have difficulties with an issue, then they should discuss it with the diocese or church authorities.

"She has no intention of resigning her post and certainly not as a result of such comments."

At Sunday's service, one woman had to be escorted from the church after an outburst against Ms Stone.

Afterwards, the vicar who married twice and fathered a child said: "It would have been naive of me to assume that everyone would be as happy as others are and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life."