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                                                                   EXHIBIT 23.3

                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


To the Board of Directors
First Bancorp
Troy, North Carolina

We consent to the use in the Registration Statement of First Bancorp on Form
S-4 of our report dated July 23, 1999 on the consolidated financial statements
of First Savings Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary as of and for the years ended
June 30, 1999 and 1998, and to the reference to our firm under the reference
"experts" in the Registration Statement.



 /s/ Dixon Odom PLLC
- ------------------------------
Sanford, North Carolina
March 31, 2000