Sandal-loving vicar who calls socks satanic retires

A vicar who is known for wearing sandals every day and once branded socks an "instrument of Satan" has retired.

The Reverend Andrew Dotchin from Ipswich, Suffolk, has been a vicar for the past 42 years and enjoys the exposed-toe life, no matter the weather, which he said was in keeping with biblical tradition.

On Monday he retired and said he would enjoy having a lie in on a Sunday and living in ways other people do.

"I've lived in five-bedroom vicarages with big lawns and now we've got a two-bed semi on an estate and it's nice because it's how everyone else is," he told BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.

Dotchin was ordained in South Africa before leading churches in several areas of Suffolk during the last 26 years, including Whitton, Felixstowe and Kesgrave, Little Bealings and Playford.

As a child he attended the Royal Hospital School near Holbrook and later trained as an industrial chemist.

He also did quality control work in a confectionery factory and previously described himself as the "Reverend Willy Wonka".

The vicar previously said that socks were the work of the devil and there were no depictions of Jesus or people in heaven wearing socks.

He said he loved the performance aspect of his position, which he described as "religious stand up".

"There's a sense of doing the dance and being allowed into people's lives," he explained.

"Hopefully they take a bit of you into their heart so their heart might get bigger for others."

Dotchin said he would miss being a part of weddings and baptisms, but he was looking forward to spending more time with other groups such as the RAF Air Cadets.

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