'I have a Tardis in my church - how many vicars can say that?'

"It's an amazing thing to say I have a Tardis in my church," said a vicar, marvelling at the blue Doctor Who police box in the courtyard.

The replica box from the BBC science fiction series had been sitting by a farmer's field near Ipswich for some years, before finding its new home in Cambridge.

On Friday, it was transported to the Zion Baptist Church, where the plan is to restore it to its former glory and show it at both services and events for sci-fi fans.

A big Doctor Who fan himself, the Reverend Jason de-Vaux said the arrival of the Tardis was "like having a rock star with us... it was like Beatle-mania".

De-Vaux has been a Doctor Who fan since the early 1970s, and when a friend in Suffolk mentioned he had an old Tardis, his interest was piqued.

It was offered for free if he thought he could renovate it, and luckily staff at a transport firm - who were equally keen on the sci-fi genre - offered to transport it at no cost to the church.

Moving the "big piece of kit was a full-on, mad situation", he admitted.

He added: "While we were trying to remove it from the side of the field, an old boy - a farmer - walked across... and said he was quite glad we were moving it as during the summer people were stopping in their hundreds to have their photos taken with it.

"He said, 'You're doing us a favour, boy'".

When the Tardis landed at the church on East Road in the city, it caused quite a stir. The reverend said that after it was driven slowly through the busy main road next to Anglia Ruskin University, it was quickly noticed.

"All of a sudden, we had like 50 or 60 students filming and texting on their phones," de-Vaux said.

"It erupted - it was like having a rock star with us... it was like Beatle-mania.

"I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that. It was a shockwave, but a great wave."

He said a friend messaged to say "you've gone viral", and de-Vaux said the church had received hundreds of emails and offers of help from as far afield as Canada and India, and also some from former BBC staff who had worked on Doctor Who.

"It's quite literally out of this world. Everyone is buzzing to see this," he continued.

"It's not the sort of thing you'd usually see in a church courtyard - let's be honest.

"It's iconic, it's part of UK sci-fi history, and it's known worldwide. Everyone goes - blue box - Tardis."

He added: "It's an amazing thing to say there is a Tardis in my church. I mean, what a thing to say to people? How many vicars or church ministers can say that today?"

The church is planning to restore the Tardis or "resurrect it" and in April a Doctor Who-based service is planned, including Cybermen, Daleks and a "special guest", plus there could be the opportunity of using it for charitable events, he said.

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