A former Keighley couple are inviting local people to join them on a tour of the Holy Land.

Dave and Althea Howell hope to attract both devoted Christians and non-churchgoers to the trip.

They will visit many well-known sites around Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Tiberias. Several friends in Keighley have already signed up for the ten-day trip, costing £985, next June.

Dave, known in Keighley as the Singing Policeman, and Althea are no strangers to the Holy Land. They have been volunteers at the Garden Tomb, in Jerusalem, for the past ten years, since Dave retired from the police force. Dave tells visitors about Jesus's crucifixion while taking them around the reputed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Althea works in the gift shop and prepares communions for tourists who have been touched by their visit.

The pair, who moved to Staffordshire two years ago, have repeatedly been asked to lead tours to the region.

While in Keighley, they gave many talks to local groups about their voluntary work in Israel, Africa and India.

The pair were heavily involved in the local Church, with Dave a one-time president of Keighley Churches Together.

They said a trip to the locations of events in the Bible was a fantastic experience not to be missed. Dave said: "No one, whether they are a churchgoer or not, comes back from a visit to the Holy Land unchanged."

The Howells's Holy Land Experience Tour will take in both tourist hotspots and less well-visited places. The itinerary includes the Dead Sea, Galilee and Capurnaum, the site of many of Jesus's miracles. There is also Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and Masada, where Jewish zealots held out against the Roman Empire.

Anyone interested in the trip can contact Dave and Althea on 01827 67503.