A PENSIONER has received a tall order - from Russia.

Devout Roman Catholic Elsie Tebbs, a former midwife, has been asked to send a statue of Our Lady, at least 3ft tall, out to a priests' seminary at St Petersburg.

She sent a crib set to a church in Ghana for Christmas, and a statue of the Virgin Mary to a church in Ethiopia, while a congregation in Mozambique asked for a prayer against witch doctors.

Families present the pensioner, who lives in Yarm, with unwanted holy statues and icons, which she has refurbished and shipped to centres in foreign countries.

Mrs Tebbs said: "I don't ask for money, I don't do any fund-raising. I just pray about it."

It all started when, during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, she presented an African pilgrim with a prayer card. He asked her if she had more, she did, and word spread - globally.

Customs at Dar Es Salaam held up for four months a statue of Our Lady donated by St Bernadette's Church, in Nunthorpe, and sent to Mrs Tebbs.

It was refurbished and packaged by Hayes and Finch, in Newcastle, and shipped free of charge by the Merdite Shipping Line.

The statue's release from customs in Ethiopia was celebrated with an all-night vigil of prayer attended by 500 worshippers.

She is seeking the advice of HM Customs about exporting a statue of the Virgin to Russia, which she is commissioning from a Liverpool firm.