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A parish priest was today jailed for five-and-a-half years after being found guilty of sexually abusing a string of boys over nearly 30 years.

A court heart that the Rev David Smith, 52, took advantage of his trusted position to groom and molest six vulnerable youngsters, indecently assaulted some of his victims during sleep-overs at the vicarage in Clevedon, Somerset, and during holidays abroad.

The two-week trial at Bristol Crown Court heard that concerns about the vicar were raised with the Church of England on two occasions, first in 1983 and again in 2001. The two complainants were assured that the matter had been “dealt with“, but Smith continued to abuse boys in his parish.

The case is the second case of child sex abuse in two weeks to embarrass the Church of England. Only last week, former choirmaster Peter Halliday, 61, was jailed for two and half years after admitting 10 counts of indecent assault on three boys.

Once again, in the latest case to come before the courts, the Church will find itself in the dock for failing to act on reports of abuse.

Smith, vicar of St John the Evangelist in Clevedon, had denied all 12 charges against him, claiming they were a “figment of someone’s imagination“. But a jury of eight women and four men took just two hours to find him unanimously guilty of 10 charges of indecent assault, one sexual assault of a child under 13 and one of sexual activities with a child under 16. He closed his eyes as the jury foreman read out the guilty verdicts.

The abuse began when Smith was appointed assistant housemaster at the Douai Abbey monastic boarding school in Berkshire in 1975. During his one academic year at the school he abused three boys after inviting them into his quarters.

Nearly 25 years later, one of the alleged victims saw Smith speaking about the death of his cousin in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Shocked to see his former teacher was now a vicar, he wrote to the church to express his concerns.

The victim was reassured by the then Bishop of Bath and Wells, the late Jim Thompson, that the problem had “effectively been dealt with“.

Smith left the school and went on to to form a close relationship with another young boy after being appointed as curate in the parish of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, in 1981. He went on to abuse three more boys after becoming vicar at St John’s in Clevedon in 1993.

The vicar groomed his victims by asking them to join the church choir, by inviting them to the vicarage to do their homework, or by taking them on trips to the seaside. He told them he “loved them” and even kissed one shocked boy on the lips.

In a letter to one teenager who tried to stop seeing him, he wrote: “I have been left feeling like a much-loved pet, who no longer gets fed or walked because you have found other interests. Wouldn’t it be better to set the pet free rather than keep him locked in a cage just in case he’s wanted again."

The abuse came to light when his final victim, a 13-year-old altar boy who wanted to become a priest, told a church member what had been going on. Police launched an investigation and traced the other alleged victims through church records, the court heard.

Smith denied all the allegations and claimed the boys were lying, although officers later found DNA evidence on Smith’s sofa, where two of the boys claimed they were masturbated by the priest. One of the boys later told police he had not reported Smith because he never thought anyone would believe his word against a local vicar.

The present Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Right Rev Peter Price, tonight apologised to Smith’s victims and said the Church was horrified by what he had done.

He said: “The Rev David Smith has been found guilty of a number of very serious charges. We are shocked and horrified that he has fallen so far short of the very high standards expected of priests in the Church of England. We apologise sincerely to David Smith’s victims, their families, the parish and all involved in this case.

"We’re very sorry that these offences were committed by a man in a position of trust. We have ensured that proper pastoral care is being offered to all of those that need it and we will do all within our power to mitigate the harmful effects of these offences. We’ve taken all necessary steps to do all in our power to ensure there is no repetition of this situation.”

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