Either our ancestors had better bladders or sermons were shorter but most churches were not built with lavatories.

Church officials in a West Sussex village want to put up a toilet block but the plan has incurred the wrath of the Slaugham Society.

Conservationists feel it would be better to put a toilet inside the church rather than having an ugly block outside.

They are right, especially when the church is undergoing a thorough internal modernisation in a bid to make it more attractive for congregations.

The Chichester Diocese should insist the beauty of this ancient church is not lost in all the alterations.

But even the outside block would be better than the present arrangement of a portable loo in the graveyard.