IN an era of decreasing church attendance, one place of worship in Darlington has an unusual problem - it is too small for its congregation.

St Mary's Church, in Cockerton, is full, or nearly full, every Sunday.

It also has a number of services during the week, as well as weddings, christenings, funerals and other special events.

The vicar and parochial church council are now examining ways of increasing the capacity of the building, which is just off Cockerton Green.

The man facing the problem is the Reverend Richard Wallace, who has been at St Mary's for seven-and-a-half years. "Most Sundays, we are pleasantly near full," said Mr Wallace.

"But when we have anything over and above the norm, we are very crowded, and we are looking at ways to address that.

"To a degree, just to be fit for purpose, we need more space."

St Mary's - which seats about 150 people - was built in 1901, when Cockerton was a village on the outskirts of Darlington.

It has now become part of the town. "St Mary's is a very small church," Mr Wallace said. "It was built as a village church, but now it is now part of a vast urban area.

"If you were contemplating building a church for this community today, you would have to build a bigger one."

Mr Wallace said the congregation had become younger during his time in charge.

"We were predominantly an older congregation, and that is no longer true," he said.

"The number of young people and families has grown, so that is very positive. We are very excited by that.

"But Christianity is a proselytising faith, it seeks to grow. I don't think we're any different in that to other church. It is a bit like a goldfish in a small bowl. If you keep it in there it doesn't grow any bigger than the bowl."

St Mary's also has a Swedish curate, Olaf Eriksson. "He has brought a lot of skills and gifts," said Mr Wallace. "He is much-loved."

Cockerton also has a Methodist chapel, and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church.