CHURCH leaders across North and West Yorkshire have voted by a large majority to allow women to become bishops.

Members of the Ripon and Leeds Diocesan Synod met in Harrogate over the weekend and voted 70 to 18 in favour of legislation permitting women bishops as soon as possible.

The motion is expected to put added pressure on the Church of England General Synod to speed up the process, which will lead to a full debate on allowing women to become bishops.

Canon Penny Driver, who looks after parishioners in Sharow, near Ripon, said: "Many of us believe that an all male episcopate can no longer properly fulfil the role of Christian leadership - we need both male and female bishops just as we have male and female priests, deacons and laity."

Father Timothy Lipscomb, Area Dean of Armley, near Leeds, was opposed to the motion on the grounds that it would cause further division and hurt, demoralising further an already "demoralised church".

He said the many traditionalists opposed to the move would "either resign, become Roman Catholics or disappear into obscurity, disillusioned and broken".