Tucked between updates from the horticultural society and news from the bellringers of St Peter and St Paul Church, her poems were usually a whimsical reflection on local affairs.
But the fragile sensitivities of the magazine’s readership were shattered when she recently took an unexpected diversion into fiery political discourse.
Churchgoers flicking through March’s edition were confronted by her poem Know It All, written from the point of view of someone who watches the news and then takes aim at illegal migrants, benefit cheats and obese people who claim they’re too poor to eat.
Readers were particularly worked up about the lines: ‘From politics to climate change and other world events, to how much money in Benefits to scroungers have [sic] been spent.
‘There’s always one who pitches up to say they can’t heat up their homes, they fail to see the irony as they clutch expensive mobile phones.
‘Then the great big fat ones who say they can’t afford to eat, many could live quite easily on their body fat for weeks.
‘Boat loads of illegals who are flocking to our land, possibly one woman to every 10 of man.’
Having warmed to the subject, she got stuck in with a poem called Broken Britain for the Easter edition, writing: ‘The high street where drug users, deal drugs in public places, they know there’s no police around – no need to hide their faces.’
She then worked up a real head of steam, warning readers: ‘Boat loads of illegals flooding to our shores, step this way for hotel rooms and benefits galore.
‘What about the people already sleeping on our streets, not for them the promise of warm beds with clean while [sic] sheels [sic].
‘Everyone who’s come that way, the story’s all the same, if it costs so much to get here – why not come by plane.’
The backlash was immediate.
With three complaints in his inbox, Robin Hodges, editor of the Uplyme Parish News for 25 years, felt he had a crisis on his hands. He apologised and promised to address the controversy in May’s edition.
However, despite culling the offending editions from the church website and vowing to stop publishing Ms Hunt’s poems, Mr Hodges insisted he was not censoring anyone.
He said: ‘It was a lapse of judgment on my part, which I regret. I have been in contact with Diana and she was really sad that people took it the wrong way. Maybe it was not the right thing to go into a church magazine, I take full responsibility for it and I don’t blame her at all. ‘It is not censorship, she was just sad that people took it the way that they did.’
Ms Hunt is said to have written the poems as a ‘bit of fun’ and they were meant to be tonguein-cheek rather than a reflection of her own opinions.
One of those who complained was villager David Michael, who said: ‘There is no place in a Christian parish magazine for the sentiments expressed in the poem.’
Fellow resident Martin Satherley, posted online: ‘It’s not really the place to discuss highly controversial opinions... although I do respect the author’s right to have those opinions.’
But others defended Ms Hunt, with Lee Saunders posting on social media: ‘Actively demonising and persecuting a member of your very small community... you should be ashamed of yourself.’
Matt Harrington said Broken Britain ‘sounds pretty true to me’, while Paul Reader identified what he felt was the real issue, writing: ‘Woke complained?’
‘It was a lapse of judgment’
‘It is not censorship’