A PRIEST got more than he bargained for after taking a trip-of-a-lifetime Down Under.

Benedictine monk Father Matthew Burns, from Bamber Bridge, was expecting a peaceful trip after jetting to Australia for a three-week holiday. But after travelling to see the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast, the priest, who preaches at Our Lady and Saint Gerard's RC Church, Lostock Hall, was caught up in the aftermath of a three-day cyclone!

Floodwaters rose 20-30ft, his car stalled and he was left stranded in the middle of nowhere. The car quickly flooded and the priest was stranded with not a soul in sight.

"When I got the car, people warned me to keep accelerating if I came across anything like this, but I must have done it too much," he said. "It stalled and wouldn't start again."

With nobody to help, the priest was forced to get himself out of the muddle -- something, he claims, he has not often had to do in his profession.

"Monks are not used to helping themselves much," he said. "I've always had others around to give me a hand with almost anything."

He managed to get out of the vehicle and rolled up his sleeves to bail out the water. He then pushed the car to dry land and got it going again.

But his exploits hve not put him off making further trips to the country. "I saw some wonderful sights and I would certainly go to Australia again."