SUPPORTERS of a parish priest who has come under attack in a community "civil war" have spoken out.

Members of the Waterside Catholic Parish have fallen out with their parish priest after it was announced a local family is being evicted from their home after 11 years by the church.

Parishioners claim the O'Connors, a family of six, are being ordered to leave St Michael's House - attached to St Michael's Church in Langdown Lawn in Hythe - because Father Patsy Foley wants to move in. Some are also upset that former priest Father Ray Lyons' plans for a £4m superchurch to replace St Michael's and St Bernard's in Holbury have been dropped.

Although the church has remained tight-lipped, parishioners have come forward in support of Father Patsy.

One parishioner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "I have attended St Michael's Church for the last 35 years and have seen several priests come and go.

"The house now being occupied by the O'Connor family was always the residence of the parish priest until Father Ray Lyons came to the parish.

"It was Father Ray's grand idea to build a superchurch which according to many parishioners was neither wanted nor needed."

She said the St Michael's Church had been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair, adding: "Father Patsy took over and one of the first things he did was to repair the church and paint it.

"Whether or not Father Patsy wants to live in the house now being occupied by the O'Connors is immaterial. The house is the property of the church, not the O'Connor family.

"I and many other parishioners are looking forward to many more years attending St Michael's with Father Patsy as our priest."

Another parishioner added: "Those of us who know Father Patsy Foley respect him as an extremely hard-working priest who has given his life to serving others, including over 20 years as a missionary in some of the most impoverished areas of Africa."

Other parishioners, however, claim they have voted with their feet and abandoned the parish, stating the congregation at the weekly Mass has fallen from 400 to less than 175.

Barry Hudd, spokesman for the Diocese of Portsmouth, said matters relating to the O'Connor family are confidential, and added: "Church Mass attendance numbers always fluctuate."

Father Patsy declined to comment.