A wedding had to be delayed after a man cut off his testicles before going into the church where the ceremony was due to take place.
A vicar was making the final preparations for the event at All Saints Church, in Hutton, Essex, when the blood-soaked man entered.
The Rev Bob Wallace said the man entered the church after harming himself outside.
He said: "We were able to call an ambulance to get him the help he needed.
"I don't want to elaborate on the incident, I'm more concerned that he is now getting the appropriate treatment."
Friends of the couple told the Brentwood Weekly News that they arrived to find a police car outside.
One of them told the paper: "There was blood all over the floor just outside the church. When I went in there, it was like someone had been murdered. There was blood everywhere.
"When I went in the church, I saw something on the floor which I could only describe as flesh, which I thought was part of his arm but that was one of his testicles."
Essex Police were called and the wedding was able to go ahead half an hour later.
