Dad's Army star speaks at St Augustine's

Frank Williams, who played the vicar in the much-loved series, visited St Augustine's church on Saturday, to speak freely of his life, his life in the entertainment business, of his faith, and enjoy a delicious bangers n' mash supper.

Frank said Bexhill-on-Sea bought back fond memories, as it was supposed to be close to where Dad's Army's fictional town of Walmington was based, and he has since returned to the town on a couple of occasions, following invitations from St Augustine's vicar, Father Robert Coates.

Frank's character, Reverend Timothy Farthing was vicar of the fictional St Aldhelm's in the series and he said it's hard to believe that so much time has passed since it first hit the small screen.

He said: "It's incredible to think that Dads Army is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year."

He met Father Robert in Dartmouth in 1995, when Father Robert was a naval chaplain.

They became friends and Frank has since been to Bexhill in 2002 and 2007, to open St Augustine's summer ftes.