ALL creatures great and small descended on Bury Parish Church at the weekend for a special animal blessing service.

Dogs, cats, rabbits, a guinea pig and even two donkeys were among the furry friends and pets taken along by their owners for the annual event, which was held on Sunday.

The animal blessing service was organised by staff from Bury RSPCA where each of the animals sat alongside their loving owners throughout the poignant event.

The 45-minute service was presided over by the Rector of Bury, the Reverend Dr John Findon. While the vast majority of the animals entered the church, the two donkeys plus a sheep belonging to the Pimhole Community Farm in Bury were kept in a pen outside.

Zoe Milligan, assistant manager with Bury RSPCA, said: "This was the first year that our staff had organised the event. Previous RSPCA staff were responsible for it in other years.

"I would say that around 40 people brought their pets along for the blessing. The people who came along had a really good day and next year we hope to make the event bigger and better."

She added: "Usually, many people will go to church either on their own or with their family.

"But many people who have pets don't have families, so it was important to them that they could take their pets along to the service and blessing.

"I think the owners derived a lot of comfort from the blessing.

"Reverend Findon individually blessed each of the animals and the service lasted for around 45 minutes. This annual event has been held in Bury over quite a few years."

Afterwards, a homemade craft fair which included tea and biscuits, was held in the church hall in aid of the RSPCE and raised more than £140.