A PRIEST has supported a controversial devil-horned bench tribute to Prodigy star Keith Flint — despite it being placed in a graveyard.
The wooden seat was carved with horns in honour of the Firestarter singer’s spiky green haircut.
Some residents feel that the Satanic detail on the bench is inappropriate in a Christian churchyard.
However, the Very Rev Rod Reid, the dean of St Mary’s Church in Bocking, insisted the Essex-based band and Flint’s family had been “very respectful” of its setting.
Mr Reid presided over Flint’s funeral at the church near Braintree in 2019, after the star was found dead at home aged 49.
He said: “The band and the family wanted something fitting for the churchyard. They were very respectful and very aware of the setting.”
Prodigy manager John Fairs and founder Liam Howlett helped to design the tribute, which was signed off by Flint’s family.
Mr Reid said people were amazed by the bench “and what it means to have it here”.
He went on: “For local people here in Braintree and around, this means an awful lot. They remember seeing Flint and Liam on the dance floors in Braintree. They have followed them all the way through and they are proud.”
Electro-punk pioneers Prodigy enjoyed a string of hits in the 1990s, including their 1996 chart-topper Firestarter.
Its video featured demon-like imagery and a demented dance from wild-eyed Flint which attracted thousands of complaints from BBC viewers.
More than 5,000 people attended his funeral. A post-mortem found traces of cocaine, alcohol and codeine in his body when he died.
Essex coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded an open verdict at the inquest.
She said: “We will never quite know what was going on in his mind on that date.”