A village's Baptist Church faces the possibility of permanent closure after its minister says goodbye this weekend.

Reverend Carolyn Urwin has been Minister at Wraysbury Baptist Church for 13 years. She and her husband Robin are leaving Wraysbury for her to take up a new ministry in Warrington.

A goodbye party is planned for tomorrow (Saturday). A final service on Sunday will see her Baptist congregation joined by worshippers from nearby St Andrew's C of E Church as the two team up to give the couple a warm send off.

But after that the future looks grim.

There are major legal requirements now to keeping a public meeting operating safely and the passage of time has left members of the trust that has run the Baptist Church feeling unable to continue - with no-one coming forward to take their place.

Mrs Urwin said: "It has come as a shock to the congregation that a way forward could not be found."

She hoped that people in the village might be able to get together and work out a way of saving the church.

Margaret Lenton, who is chairman of Wraysbury Parish Council, said it was hoped to get the church building registered as an asset of community value which would protect it and give the village a vital breathing space to decide what to do.

The building is used by a nursery and infant groups, even a chiropodist and hosts regular coffee mornings.

It dates back to 1853 and is a major part of the village skyline.

The building is believed to be owned by a trust in London and the parish council hopes to make contact. It will also be necessary to establish the value of the property, which some hope could be bought by the community.

Baptist churches run as independent organisations and lack a countrywide central structure of the kind enjoyed by the Church of England.