Vicars are living on the breadline.

Byline: STEVE DOUGHTY HUNDREDS of clergymen are so poor that they rely on state handouts, a Church report revealed yesterday. One in ten vicars with families pad out their Church of England salaries by claiming the working families' tax credit a means-tested state benefit it found. Half the clergy trying to support families on their stipends are slipping further into debt each year and nine out of ten clerics think average pay should be at least [pound]4,000 a year higher than it is now. The findings from a large- scale survey of more than 6,000 C of E priests ranging from humble curates t...