Man quizzed over attack on priest

Father Michael Ingwell has been a priest for 45 years

A 19-year-old man has been arrested over the attempted murder of 71-year-old Catholic priest in Halifax.

Father Michael Ingwell of St Marie's Church was stabbed after he disturbed intruders at his Clarence Street home just before midnight on Monday.

The man who has been arrested was detained on Tuesday evening and is being questioned in Halifax.

Three women, all in their 20s, who were arrested soon after the attack, have been released without charge.

Hospital visit

Father Ingwell was seriously injured in the attack and is in a serious condition in Calderdale Royal Hospital.

The Bishop of Leeds, Arthur Roche, said he had known Father Ingwell since he was a young priest and had visited him in hospital.

"He was fortunate he was able to raise the alarm himself by getting to a phone," Bishop Roche added.

"Had he not been able to do that, we could have been looking at something even worse."

Father Ingwell was ordained in St Peter and Paul's Church, Leyburn, North Yorkshire in 1959 and has served parishes across West Yorkshire.