Police make arrest over vicarage murder The Rev John Suddards, the vicar at St Mary's church in Thornbury, was found dead inside his locked vicarage on Tuesday morning. Police investigating the stabbing of a Gloucesterhire vicar have arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of murder. Forensic officers from Avon and Somerset police on Wednesday scoured the lanes around St Mary's church in Thornbury, near Bristol, after the Rev John Suddards was found dead in his vicarage on Tuesday morning. Church leaders spoke out about the dangers facing their clergy as Detective Chief Inspector Simon Crisp leading the murder inquiry appealed for more help from the shocked local community. A postmortem on Wednesday confirmed that Suddards had died from multiple stab wounds. A man was arrested on Tuesday evening, just hours after the 58-year-old vicar's body had been discovered when two workmen arrived at the vicarage and found it locked. "The reverend had only been here a few months and we don't have a great understanding of his friends and family at the moment," said Crisp. We are appealing for people who knew him to come forward and tell us about him. We are keen to speak to anyone who saw the reverend after 12.30pm on Monday. We are determined to bring whoever is responsible for the reverend's death to justice and have a team of officers working on this investigation around the clock. The bishop of Tewkesbury, John West, had been due to meet Suddards to conduct his six-month appraisal on Wednesday morning but instead found himself holding eucharist for a congregation struggling to come to terms with the killing. The bishop reminded parishioners in the market town of 12,000 people that they were "part of a fallen humanity where tragic events happen," before talking to reporters in front of St Mary's church and castle where the flag flew at half mast. "Because clergy make themselves available to everyone, they put themselves in a vulnerable position," he said. Our concern as a diocese is very much to support the church community but also the wider community of Thornbury as they seek to come to terms with this terrible tragedy. He was joined by the archdeacon of Gloucester, Geoffrey Sidaway, who added: "Sadly this event highlights the vulnerable nature of parish ministry in some of our communities today." Locals said Suddards was unmarried and had no children, but one of the reasons he moved to the parish from Essex was to be closer to two nieces who live in the area. Paul Morrish, who carried out odd jobs for Suddards, a former barrister who became a priest after a traffic accident 22 years ago, said he first realised something was seriously wrong when he saw three armed police officer standing guard on the lane by the vicarage on Tuesday. "I was in shock and disbelief that something like this could happen," he said. Thornbury is quiet with very, very low crime so many people's initial reaction was that it was a made up story. It was horrendous. Morrish said he was puzzled how the vicarage could have been found locked with Suddards body lying in the hallway, because the door was not self-locking. He described the clergyman as a quiet, thoughtful man whose vicarage walls were lined with hundreds of books. "He didn't have a lot to say, but when he spoke you listened," said Morrish. "It is just not something you expect to happen in Thornbury," said Judith Payne, the town clerk. We are more known for our success in Britain in Bloom competitions than incidents of this sort. She added that Suddards was just settling into the community and was in the process of planning a civic service to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee.