A couple with three young children are being forced out of their home by the "greedy" Church of England.

Francis and Fiona Barber have been served with a notice to quit the quaint village cottage they have lived in for 12 years.

Francis, 40, said: "They are being very horrible. It makes you wonder what the Church stands for. Basically it boils down to greed. They have sold my house for far more money than it was worth."

The family face being turfed out of their 1930s three-bed semi in Kelmscott, west Oxfordshire, next month.

They say they were not given an opportunity to match the price of the house before it was sold. Now they have just four weeks to find a new home.

But the Church Commissioners argued they were obliged as a charity to get the best price they could.

Mr and Mrs Barber learned of the Commissioners' decision to dispose of the property in March. Their three children - Thomas, 11, Lewis, nine, and Francesca, six - all go to local schools and were keen to stay.

Fiona, 34, said: "It's the only home our children have known. We are very angry. We put in a good offer but they seem to want the most they can get.

"They first asked if we wanted to buy it from them. We had the house valued at £95,000, but put in an offer well above it of £110,000." The Church Commissioners' agents, Cluttons of Oxford, turned down their offer and put the house on the open market.

Francis, a self-employed landscape gardener, said he needed to stay in the area where he had built up his business. They wanted to buy the house because they thought the mortgage would be cheaper than paying £450 rent each month.

Fiona added: "They are certainly aware of the fact that we are going to be homeless if we have to move out of here. It's not the sort of treatment you'd expect from the Church.

"Our neighbours also think we're being treated very badly and have written in support."

The Church owns five other cottages in the same block.

Arun Kataria, spokesman for the Church Commissioners in London, said: "Money is not always the only criterion when we dispose of property.

"The general situation, though, is that properties must fetch the market price. The open market is usually the fairest way."

He added that the house had been let to the family on a shorthold tenancy and was always subject to a two-month termination period.

"It is an unfortunate situation but it is important for us to demonstrate that we get market value for the property.

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