ON the eve of his retirement the Bishop of Worcester has spoken of his mixed feelings about leaving the Faithful City.

The Rt Revd Dr Peter Selby will leave his post on Sunday after 10 years in the diocese, before moving to the Isle of Wight with his wife Jan.

He said leaving would be a "big wrench".

"It is a big thing to suddenly switch the tap off," he said.

Mr Selby said immediately after his departure he would be travelling to see friends in New Hampshire in the USA.

"They are the sort of people you can rest with and go through what for me will be some turbulent feelings," he said.

He said one of the "delights" of being a bishop was being there to express things that matter to people.

"When you go to a confirmation, just seeing all the faces of people and in there Christian journey, they are full of delight and anticipation and that is a huge privilege and delight and something to miss," he said.

"Among the highlights - there's nothing like being in a conversation with a person where you suddenly hear and see things that mean that the Christian thing is taking fire for them. There's nothing like that."

He said he had also enjoyed working with a "remarkably strong" team of colleagues.

Mr Selby said he was also pleased declining numbers attending church seemed to be a thing of the past.

"I think there's some evidence that we are beginning to see at least a plateau out the period of decline we have had," he added.

Mr Selby, who has campaigned for society to take the welfare of prisoners more seriously said he felt he had helped raise the profile of this issue.

"I've had a little part of it and I think that, yes we've alerted people and the Government to those questions," he added.

Mr Selby was appointed Bishop to HM Prisons in 2001 and will take up the post of honorary president for the National Council for Independent Monitoring Boards of prisons and detention centres, so will continue his work from a different platform.

He said he was looking forward to living in a spacious environment with a coastline.

The 113th bishop will be the Rt Revd Dr John Inge, who is currently Bishop of Huntington in the Diocese of Ely.