More than a sixth of Canterbury Cathedral's staff are to be made redundant in the wake of the pandemic.

In a bid to counter a "substantial loss of income" the cathedral has suffered, all staff were invited to apply for voluntary redundancy in July.

The cathedral has now revealed a total of 53 employees will be leaving the world-famous site over the next few months under the scheme, after almost all applications for voluntary redundancy were approved.

It is understood that staff who opted for the scheme will receive an enhanced redundancy package, above statutory redundancy payments.

The cathedral could not confirm which roles will be affected, but said they are "spread across most areas" of its staff.

Further redundancies could soon be on the way at the historic site, in a bid to counter losses of £3 million it has so far suffered during the pandemic.

Last week, it launched a 45-day staff consultation into a restructuring process, which could see more jobs lost.

A spokesman said: "Despite halting all but essential spending and pursuing savings wherever possible, staff costs are still our main source of expenditure.

"As we are in a consultation period, no final decisions can yet be made, but it is likely that the number of people who work with us will need to reduce further."

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