Atheist, 82, hurls 5ft crucifix into duck pond after church plants it on village green

Alan Pickard, 82, said the 'artefact' should be kept within church grounds

Retired lawyer accused church in Brearton, North Yorkshire of 'arrogance'

A parishioner sent a round-robin email to the villagers about cross's future

Mr Pickard replied saying he considered dressing it up as Worzel Gummidge

Said he will 'continue to pitch it into the pond' if it is replaced on the green

Offence: Retired lawyer Alan Pickard, 82, dumped the cross in a pond after it had been planted on a green in the village of Brearton, North Yorkshire, by the local church for lent

A retired lawyer was so offended when his local church placed a wooden cross in the village green for Lent that he threw it into a duck pond in anger.

The five feet cross was placed on the small green in the upmarket village of Brearton, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, for the duration of the Christian festival.

But retired lawyer Alan Pickard, 82, took exception to the 'arrogance' of St. John the Baptist Church, tearing the cross down and dumping it in the water.

Mr Pickard even admitted that he had considered dressing the cross as fictional character Worzel Gummidge.

After retrieving the cross from the pond, an angry parishioner and her husband sent a round-robin email to the residents of the village to hold a referendum on the cross's future.

To their shock the culprit owned up in a reply, saying that he thought the 'proper place for this artefact is within the church precincts'.

His message read: 'I might have dressed the bit of wood up as Worzel Gummidge, but chose instead to pitch it into the pond and if it is replaced will continue to pitch it into the pond.'

The village has a population of around 140 residents and 44 responded to the e-mail.

While six people said they did object to the cross's position on the green, 21 residents said they did not.

When a second email was distributed revealing the results of the survey, Mr Pickard sent another curt reply, reading: 'If the cross appears on the green again it will end up in the pond again.'

Arrogant: Mr Pickard dragged the cross (pictured in the grounds of St. John the Baptist Church) into a nearby duck pond, later accusing the church of 'arrogance'



He added: 'I do not accept the validity of this voting process and I will not yield to the obvious arrogance of the church.'

The cross has now been planted in the church yard, much to the pensioner's delight, but he said that if it reappears he 'would be right back down there'.

Speaking at his home in Brearton, Mr Pickard said: 'I have said all I have to say to the village committee.



Upset: Village resident Jeremy Rhodes, who witnessed the cross being dragged back up to the church by a parishioner, said that the issue had caused 'a great deal of upset in the village'

'I might speak at some point but now is not the time. I have nothing to say at this moment.'

Jeremy Rhodes, 55, a resident of the village, noticed two parishioners retrieving the religious symbol from the pond after it is understood to have disappeared last Wednesday.



Mr Rhodes, who works in the gas and oil industry, said: 'I was driving back to the village when I saw a parishioner really struggling to carry the cross over the village green.

'I stopped her and she said that someone had thrown it into the pond. We were both quite dismayed.'

He said the issue had caused a 'great deal of upset in the village' and that Mr Pickard should have spoken to the local vicar if he took umbrage to the positioning of the cross.

Josephine Johnston, 85, who has lived in the village of Brearton for 35 years, described Mr Pickard's actions as 'sacrilege'.

Mrs Johnston added: 'I think it was terrible that it was thrown into the pond. It amounts to hooliganism. Mr Pickard should have approached the church warden instead.

'Mr Pickard said he was going to dump it if it happened again. He has no legal right, it is not his property. He was a judge but he is behaving like a hooligan.

'I am on the church committee and I think the cross will stay in the church yard now.

'This is the first year the cross has been planted to mark lent. It made a brief appearance one Easter Sunday, but this is the first year it has been on the green for any amount of time.

No return: Mr Pickard said that if the cross reappears he 'would be right back down there'

'Of course every one has their opinions but Mr Pickard could have could about this in a different way.'

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: 'I just think it’s absolutely ludicrous, all this fuss over a cross.

'I am not religious, but it doesn’t bother me if someone wants to plant a cross on the green. What I do think is that the gentleman should have gone about it in a different way.'