A VICAR in the sleepy village of Ròtova (Valencia) caused a stir during mass when he became involved in a punch-up with a local resident in the aisle.

Víctor Jimeno, parish vicar for the Divina Aurora church, lost his rag when Rubén Costa, one of the organisers of the patron saint fiestas currently being celebrated, took the 'bread' out of his mouth during the service and broke it up in front of the vicar and trod it into the ground.

This act of blasphemy – as well as causing jaws to drop among the congregation – was too much for Pastor Jimeno, who punched Costa in the face.

Costa responded by belting him back, leading to a full-scale fist-fight by the altar.

According to witnesses, the fight ended when the vicar kicked the offender's backside.

But the entire fiesta commission was thrown out of the church to cries of, “heathens!” from the vicar, who then apologised to the rest of the congregation.

“The vicar reprimanded him, saying he had torn up the body of Christ, or something like that,” says one boy in the crowd.

Víctor Jimeno was so badly affected by the incident that he had to be treated in hospital for shock, and the following day's holy communion – on Sunday – was taken by another vicar.