The former Dean of Norwich - the first woman to hold the post - has taken on a new role at Canterbury Cathedral.

The Very Rev Jane Hedges stepped down from her position at Norwich Cathedral at the start of the month, after eight years at the helm.

She has since been appointed as the Acting Dean of Canterbury, before the Kent Cathedral selects a permanent new dean later this year.

Mrs Hedges said: “It is hugely exciting and a great honour to have been asked to take on the role of Acting Dean of Canterbury.

"I very much look forward to working with Chapter colleagues as preparations are made to welcome Bishops from across the Anglican Communion for the Lambeth Conference.

"As I leave Norwich, which is steeped in Benedictine spirituality, it will be a joy to serve in another Benedictine foundation with the same core principles at the heart of its life.”

During her time in Norwich, Mrs Hedges oversaw many projects, including an appeal that raised more than £2.5m to fund a major restoration of the cathedral’s organ and hosted the Natural History Museum’s Dippy the dinosaur exhibition.

She was one of the first women priests to be ordained in 1994.