A CHURCH in a deprived parish on the Norfolk coast is in receipt of unexpected bounty from a stricken oil tanker, after a “cubic metre of meat and fish” was donated for use at its community meals.

The Vicar of St Mary Magdalene’s, on the Magdalen Estate, in Gorleston-on-Sea, the Revd Matthew Price, said this week that the church had been able to salvage a huge quantity of frozen meat and fish from the Stena Immaculate, an oil tanker that was struck by a North Sea cargo ship in March and is now in dock at Great Yarmouth.

Volunteers from St Mary Magdalene’s were invited to take the food two weeks ago.

About 60 people attend the meals, and the chef estimates that the supply will be enough to last several months, Mr Price says. His is “the sixth most deprived parish” in the diocese of Norwich.

“It’s a beautiful community of people coming for lots of different reasons, and we offer hospitality and a safe space,” he says. Among the regular congregation are people who are homeless or struggling financially, as well as socially isolated people and those experiencing mental-health challenges, he said.

The church also hosts a meal on on Christmas Day (News, 10 January).

In 2020, Mr Price was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the community in Gorleston, during the pandemic. In partnership with local voluntary organisations, he led a team of more than 100 volunteers, who delivered 1793 food parcels to 1150 people (News, 16 October 2020).