A COUPLE who are ministers at South Chard Christian Church and have fostered 28 children have been forced to retire because they refused to comply with new sexual equality regulations.

Vincent Matherick, 65, and his wife Pauline, 61, from Chard, Somerset, have given up custody of their 11-year-old foster son after a request to sign the Sexual Orientation Regulations, which are part of the Equality Act 2006, by social services.

The couple, who are both ministers at the nonconformist church in South Chard, said they had been told by officials that they would be required to discuss same-sex relationships with children as young as 11 and tell them that gay partnerships were just as acceptable as heterosexual marriages.

Mr Matherick said: "I cannot preach the benefits of homosexuality when I believe it is against the word of God."

Somerset County Council said it was committed to the interests of children and young people and that it welcomed foster carers from all backgrounds and faiths.

Linda Barnett, head of the council's services for children and social care, is understood to be meeting with the couple soon to discuss the situation.