Derby Cathedral film row: Worshipper plans to stay away

The Wicker Man depicts human sacrifice inside a giant structure which is set alight

A man says he will never again attend the cathedral he visits regularly if certain films are shown there.

Derby Cathedral is facing criticism for its decision to screen The Wicker Man and Don't Look Now, which include sex scenes, female nudity and Pagan sacrifice.

A church warden who met the dean to discuss how unhappy he was with the plans has now written to the bishop.

The Bishop of Repton said she was not intervening.

The films are part of a season of film screenings called Quad in Residence at Derby Cathedral, which begins on 7 September

Speaking to Radio Derby, a man called Mick said he was "very angry and upset" about the plans.

He said: "The cathedral is so important to me. My parents married there back in 1928. I visit several times a week to light candles.

"If the films are screened, I will never set foot in the cathedral again."

Steve Dunning, a church warden for Christ Church, Hulland Ward, Derbyshire, met the Dean of Derby earlier this week to discuss how unhappy he was about the decision.

He said after the conversation he still felt showing them was morally wrong.

"It is against, I believe, the Canon Law of the Church of England and that is why I wrote the Bishop of Repton, as acting Bishop of Derby."

The canon law states "plays, concerts, and exhibitions of films and pictures in churches must befit the House of God, be consonant with sound doctrine, and make for the edifying of the people".

Britt Ekland's character in The Wicker Man is shown dancing naked

However, the dean said the two films "are actually really powerful stories about faith and doubt and some of the things people wrestle with".

The Very Reverend Dr Stephen Hance said the cathedral was "for everybody" and one of the reasons for the screenings was to attract new people.

The Wicker Man is set on a remote island where the inhabitants are practising a form of paganism