A former pest control officer and an Austrian musician will be ordained as deacons at a service on Sunday.

Den Martin will serve as a curate at All Saints, Woodford Wells and at St Andrew's Woodford Green.

He is one of 27 new deacons who will be ordained by The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, at Chelmsford Cathedral on Sunday.

Mr Martin, who has lived in Woodford Green since 1990,previously worked in furniture restoration before moving into pest control in the 1980s.

He retired from his role as Pest Control Services Team Manager for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea earlier this year.

He has been co-ordinating Alpha Courses at All Saints Woodford Wells and working with the church to help homeless people since he started worshipping there with his wife Helen in 2002.

Reverend Paul Harcourt of All Saints Woodford Wells said: “Den is very involved in all aspects of the church’s work.

“He is a wonderful person and everyone loves him.

“He is an extremely good people person which is important as he will spend a lot of time working with people going through difficult times.

"He will be a great help and bring a lot of heart to the team.

“We have no mice in the church thankfully, but he did help me with a small problem I had in the vicarage.”

Joining Mr Martin at the ordination ceremony will be Christoph Wutscher who will serve as curate at Wanstead St Mary with Christchurch.

Mr Wutscher grew up in Austria where he studied Theology at the University of Vienna with the intention of becoming a Roman Catholic priest.

However, after a year he changed his mind and decided to train as a musician while also working at a home for refugees..

He has previously worked as a freelance musician, a voice coach and a choral conductor.

Mr Wutscher became a member of the Church of England through Christ Church Vienna.

The role of deacon is the first level of ordained ministry.

For those that are ordained their role is public, representative and enabling of the work of other Christians.

They assist priests, lead worship, preach, teach, visit the sick, and conduct baptisms and funerals.

Deacons are generally ordained priests at the end of one year, although some may choose to remain deacons for the remainder of their ministry.