A Catholic archbishop in Zimbabwe has called for Britain to invade his country to help overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, who leads Zimbabwe's 1 million Catholics, has told the international community that millions would soon die from the famine currently rife in the troubled country.

Pressure is building on the country's controversial president, as inflation has risen to 15,000 per cent - forcing the large majority of the population deeper into poverty.

Archbishop Ncube has described Zimbabwe's president as a "massive risk to life".

He said, "I think it is justified for Britain to raid Zimbabwe and remove Mugabe. We should do it ourselves but there's too much fear. I'm ready to lead the people, guns blazing, but the people are not ready."

Reports from some areas of the country have described that up to 95 per cent of the crops had failed this year. This has left just enough food for a few weeks for families that needed to yield a full year's worth to survive.

The future is not looking any brighter either, with the US Ambassador to the country, Christopher Dell, saying that inflation could hit 1.5m per cent by the end of the year, with the cost of living more than doubling every week.

Despite millions facing starvation in the country, Archbishop Ncube has explained Mugabe has done nothing to help those in desperation. Rather than investing into relief and aid, he has instead recently invested £1m on surveillance equipment to monitor phone calls and emails, The Times newspaper has reported.

The Archbishop of Bulawayo said: "People in our mission hospitals are dying of malnutrition. We had the best education in Africa and now our schools are closing. Most people are earning less than their bus fares. There's no water or power. Is the world just going to let everything collapse in on us?"