A FORMER Bridport priest died while taking evensong at his new church in Chard.

Father Roger Pittard was at the patronal festival at the Church of the Good Shepherd and had had a busy morning celebration festival attended by the bishop.

The 61-year-old collapsed during the service and attempts were made to resuscitate him but he was later pronounced dead.

Bridport’s Father Peter Edwards was at the evensong.

He said: “In the middle of the service he moved to sit down and fell straight to the floor like you can image somebody being poleaxed, he just completely collapsed.

“Someone in the congregation was able to give him cardio pulmonary rustication straightaway.

“The paramedics were there within two or three minutes and tried to treat him at the scene.

“Then they took him to Taunton where he was pronounced dead.”

Before being ordained in 2005 Father Roger Pittard had been a lay reader for years and was chaplain to Sandra Brown when she was mayor.

He served in the United Benefice covering Askerswell, Powerstock, Loders, Eype and Symondsbury.

He was connected to St Swithun’s in Allington before moving to Chard a year ago this weekend.

Father Edwards said: “He appeared to be in reasonably good health.

“So it was a great shock especially to those that were there and to those that knew Roger.

“He was very much a larger than life character.

“He was capable of building very strong relationship with people really quite rapidly.

“He had great charisma around him he was much loved and will be much missed.”

Father Pittard’s wife Rachael and son Jonathon were at the service.

His other son Nicholas lives in Cornwall. Father Edwards said his colleague had been employed before he became a priest as a health and safety engineer and planning consultant with a series of companies based all over the country.

He believes the death may have been heart-related.

His fellow parish priest in Chard Sue Tucker said Father Pittard’s death was ‘incredibly sad’.

She said: “He was really becoming involved in the town.

“He was just what Chard needed.”

She said it was not really a comfort that he died in church.

She added: “If you are 80 you might be able to say it was some comfort to go in church but not when you are 61.

“He had much to do and it has been an incredible shock for local clergy here and for everybody we’d got to know him, we met together to have breakfast once a month and been together a few days before “I think nothing is comforting for anybody who goes at 61.

“He had an amazing sense of humour – he took life as it came and the stresses of ministry he managed by making a joke of things.

“He had the common touch and was a very down to earth. He was Dorset born and bred and had a very strong Dorset accent.”

His funeral was held yesterday, May 24, at his Good Shepherd church in Chard.