Rabbi Sheila Shulman of London's gay and lesbian synagogue, Beit Klal, has died.

Rabbi Shulman was one of the first openly gay rabbis to be ordained in the UK.

She applied to Leo Baeck College as a lesbian feminist in 1984 and in 1989 she was ordained.

Rabbi Shulman died on Saturday October 25 aged 77.

Rabbi Deborah Kahn-Harris, principal of Leo Baeck College, said: “She was an inspirational teacher whose sharp intellect will be deeply missed.

“She brought more people into the rabbinate in the past 20 years than any other person.”

A spokesperson for Reform Judaism said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Rabbi Sheila Shulman.

“Her contribution to the development of an inclusive and diverse Judaism in this country is enormous. May her memory be a blessing and an inspiration.”

Rabbi Shulman was originally from Brooklyn but lived in Britain for more than 30 years, settling in Ladbroke Grove.