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Drunk vicar 'let off' after crashing bishop's car three times over limit

A barefoot, drunk vicar who crashed his bishop's car into a soap star's partner's vehicle has avoided being sacked by a Church of England disciplinary panel

[Father Sion Hughes Carew (left)]

Father Sion Hughes Carew (left) caused chaos in his bishop's car while three times over the drink-drive limit(Image: Facebook)

A boozed-up vicar who caused chaos in his bishop's car while three times over the drink-drive limit has avoided the sack. Father Sion Hughes Carew, 40, had enjoyed a late-night drinking session with the Bishop of Lincoln Stephen Conway at his palace before getting behind the wheel barefoot.

But he barely made it half a mile from Lincoln Cathedral before disaster struck at around 11pm. He smashed the 48,000 Kia Sportage into a parked Skoda Octavia, pulled away and then rammed into it a second time.

Father Carew then drove up a steep hill, stalled and rolled backward straight into a garden wall and metal railings. The parked Skoda written off in the incident belonged to 78-year-old carpenter Brian Meagher.

[Aerial footage of Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln ]

Father Carew crashed the car near Lincoln Cathedral(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Meagher is the partner of actress Heather Bell, famous for playing Clarrie Grundy on BBC Radio 4's The Archers since 1979.

When cops rushed to the scene, just a five-minute stroll from the vicar's own church, stunned parishioners watched on as officers slapped handcuffs on the barefoot cleric, who was sporting a tank top, before chucking him in the cells for the night.

At Lincoln Magistrates' Court, Father Carew confessed to driving the bishop's car while nearly three times the legal alcohol limit, the Daily Mail reports.

He was slapped with a two-year driving ban, which can be reduced by six months if he finishes a safety course, and hit with an 873 fine.

[General view of Lincoln Magistrates Court]

Father Carew was dealt with at Lincoln Magistrates Court(Image: James Turner/Lincolnshire Live)

The Lincoln diocese later claimed that Bishop Conway had absolutely no idea the vicar had taken off in his car.

It has now come to light that a Church of England disciplinary board ruled in January that Father Carew's behaviour amounted to "conduct unbecoming and inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders."

Yet despite the carnage, he escaped with just a "rebuke and injunction," and a church spokesperson confirmed he keeps his job as a vicar.

In February, Father Carew stepped down from his duties at All Saints, Lincoln, and his role as priest-in-charge at St Mary-le-Wigford, issuing a statement to his flock to express his remorse.

He said: "Many of you will know that, in the months leading up to that evening, I had been under a great deal of stress and struggling with depression.

"While this does not in any way excuse my actions, it does form part of the context within which they occurred."

As per the Mail, an insider at the Diocese of Lincoln revealed that the vicar, who previously worked in the Church of England's legal department, "has not resigned and is currently on leave due to personal reasons." The source also noted that the bishop's battered car has since been fixed.

Meanwhile, Bishop Conway himself has since been arrested as part of an active police probe into an alleged sexual assault of a man between 2018 and 2025. He remains suspended while the investigation continues.

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