How many people does it take . . .

. . . to change a light bulb? Well, that depends on the Government's safety regulations:

Thanks to the European Union' s "Working at Heights Directive" the answer is four -- over three days at a cost of more than 1,300 pounds.

Preaching at St Benet's Church in Beccles, Suffolk in gathering gloom, Father Anthony Sutch had to call in electricians to change light bulbs that are 40 feet above the congregation.

Because safety regulations deemed the church ceiling too high for a ladder, scaffolding had to be erected for a lengthy and costly replacement operation.

From Reuters.