FARNHAM parishioners who have been without a rector for more than two years are celebrating the appointment of a new vicar of St Andrew’s Church.

Rev David Uffindell, vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Sunningdale, is expected to take up his new position in September.

Former Farnham rector Rev Simon Reynolds was jailed last July for two years and eight months after being found guilty of stealing an estimated £24,000 in church funds when he was priest-in-charge at All Saints Church in Darton, South Yorkshire.

The thefts of fees paid for weddings, funerals and memorials took place between 2007 and 2013, and his arrest caused shockwaves in Farnham. Parishioners said Mr Reynolds had made a “very positive” impression on the congregation during the six months he was with them.

The parish has been left without a rector for two years due to Mr Reynolds’ suspension and the appointment of a successor has been welcomed by the Bishop of Guildford, The Rt Rev Andrew Watson.

“I am delighted for St Andrew’s that Rev David Uffindell has been appointed as their new rector,” he said. “Its parishioners have managed magnificently without an incumbent for the past couple of years, and I pay tribute to their patience and positivity during this challenging period.

“I have been very impressed with their ability to see such adversity as an opportunity for spiritual growth. We can now all look confidently to the future as we find out what God has in store for the parish.”

Mr Uffindell, 54, was born in Hull, where some of his family still live. He studied law at Cambridge and theology at Oxford and worked in church leadership both in Kingston upon Thames and Tolworth for 10 years, before joining Sunningdale in 1998.

He is married to Kathryn, who now teaches maths at a girls’ school in London and worked as a lawyer for 20 years previously. The couple have three children: Zoë, Tim and Josh. Zoë is married and lives in Bristol, Tim is at university in Winchester and Josh is at university in Cardiff.

“I am really delighted to be joining you in Farnham as your new rector,” he said. “It seems that it is a very exciting time both for the church and also for the community. It will be a privilege to serve God with you and to begin to get to know you very soon.”