TV licence demands try patience of a saint

In common with many of medieval Britain's holiest women, Saint Walburga has had her share of tribulations.

After the death in 777 of the abbess who had helped spread Christianity among heathen Germans living beyond the Rhine, her grave was desecrated, prompting her to appear as a vision before the local bishop to bawl him out.

Now St Walburga has received another posthumous shock - a demand for immediate payment of a TV licence.

"At first, I just ignored the letters," said Father Karl Terhorst, at the Roman Catholic church of St Walburga in Ramsdorf, 80 miles east of Cologne. "But after the last letter... threatened the saint with legal action and a €1,000 fine, I decided it was time to write back."

He explained that Walburga had played a distinguished role in the reorganisation of the Frankish church, but had not not hung around long enough to own a telly.

An official for the agency which sent the demands for a monthly fee of about €16 (£10.30) said: "This was quite embarrassing. But unfortunately mistakes do occur."