THE BISHOP of Basingstoke will leave his post in the New Year, it has been announced.

The Right Reverend Peter Hancock, who took up the Dioscese of Winchester position in 2010, will become the next Bishop of Bath and Wells.

In a statement released this morning, Tim Dakin, the Bishop of Winchester, said: “It is with great pleasure, albeit tinged with personal sadness, that I can confirm that Peter Hancock will be leaving the Diocese of Winchester to become the next Bishop of Bath and Wells.

“Since joining from Portsmouth in 2010, Bishop Peter had made an enormous contribution to the life of the Diocese of Winchester. He has made a great many friends across Winchester’s parishes and I wish him and his family the very best as they make the move to Somerset.”

Bishop Peter officially replaced The Right Reverend Trevor Willmott as Bishop of Basingstoke in September 2010.

The 58-year-old father-of-four had described his role as Bishop of Basingstoke as a “huge privilege”, with responsibility for 195 churches in central and north Hampshire.