A former altar boy who claims he was sexually abused by a priest has been given the go-ahead to pursue a �100,000 High Court damages action.

Simon Grey alleges he was abused over an eight-year period from 1975 by Father Christopher Clonan, then assistant parish priest at a Coventry church.

Mr Grey, now 36 and living in Leicester, says he was psychologically damaged by his experiences and turned to crime and alcoholism.

Father Clonan fled the country 11 years ago and has not been seen since which means a case cannot be pursued against him.

Liability denied

On Friday, deputy judge John Leighton Williams QC, sitting in London, ruled that Mr Grey could continue with his negligence claim against the Archbishop of Birmingham and the Trustees of the Birmingham Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church.

The ruling is believed to be the first case of its kind, involving an action against the Church instead of an alleged abuser, to reach court.

I feel that after 20 years, justice has been done

Simon Grey

A similar claim involving allegations against the same priest has previously been settled.

The Archbishop and the Trustees deny liability and say that Mr Grey's injuries are attributable to a pre-existing personality vulnerability and family circumstances.

They had argued that it was now too late to bring the claim.

At a hearing on Thursday, Robert Seabrook QC, acting for Mr Grey, told the judge that the abuse had started when Mr Grey was 10 and it had a "devastating effect" on his life and personality.

"It emerged that he was one of a number of victims," Mr Seabrook said.

Psychological injury

"That abuse culminated or included the most serious end of the spectrum all within a community culture of a devoted Roman Catholic family and parish."

He said that the abuse had begun on Mr Grey's appointment as an altar boy and had taken place on a weekly basis and led to psychological injury.

The hearing was told that Mr Grey had turned to crime, become an alcoholic and had injured himself to the extent that he had almost cut off an arm.

Giving his ruling on Friday, the judge said he had been "impressed" by the way Mr Grey had given his evidence at the hearing and was satisfied he was doing his best to tell the truth.

He said that although significant improvement had taken place, he could still "readily find that the claimant is not able to put the sexual abuse behind him."

"It may be that from now on if a person in the position of the claimant went to consult a solicitor, that solicitor should consider whether a claim could properly be made against the Church."

Afterwards, Mr Grey said that he was pleased with the outcome.

"I feel that after 20 years, justice has been done to some extent and we can move on to the next stage, not before time really."

He said that for him, the case was all about "closure".