A vicar with a drink problem lied about hundreds of funerals to steal more than £100,000 from a church before spending it on alcohol and books, a court has heard.

Michael Fry, 57, hid the real number of funerals he conducted between 2006 and 2013 from his bosses at the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool to fund his excessive drink habit.

The chaplain at Liverpool Women's Hospital and team vicar in the St Luke's parish of the city from 1991 was allowed to retain a portion of fees passed on from funeral directors to offset against his annual £22,500 stipend.

However, he took advantage of the diocese's trust in him that he conducted around 20 funerals per year when in fact he was officiating around 100.

He failed to submit any annual returns during the offending period until he tendered his resignation in January 2014 after the church discovered the discrepancy.