A heartless man harassed a female vicar by labelling her "evil" and saying her terminally ill daughter would die because of her “wicked” mum.

A court heard how Nigel Abraham, 50, telephoned Christine Wilson to tell her she was “evil and only interested in power” and accused her of being about “sex and ambition”.

When the horrified vicar put her husband Alan on the phone in a later call his abuse worsened and he taunted the couple about their cancer-stricken child – who only died two-and-a-half-weeks later.

The clashes between Abraham and Mrs Wilson occurred after relations had soured while she was a vicar in the parish at St Mary's and St Laurence's in Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex, with his tirades coming on October 7 last year.

The vicar's husband, Alan, told Leeds Magistrates' Court on Thursday about Abraham's abuse, saying: “He said 'I am going to do everything I can', he would not give up on this. He said he was going to take this to the Bishop and tell them all about Christine.

“I said 'I think you probably need some help'. He was not very happy with that response. He said 'the reason your daughter is going to die is because your wife is very wicked'.

“My daughter had terminal cancer and in fact died two-and-a-half-weeks later. I was clearly very upset about the remark about my daughter.”