'Churches must remain at the heart of our heritage and the centre of local communities'

Survey finds a third in UK face an uncertain future

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ALMOST one-third of churches surveyed across the UK are said to have uncertain futures, with about 2,000 feeling they might not be used as a place of worship by the end of the decade.

Comedian Hugh Dennis, pictured, currently starring as a man of the cloth in a theatre production of The Importance of Being Earnest in London, has thrown his weight behind a campaign to save them, saying they 'must remain at the heart of our heritage'.

The National Churches Trust, a charity which helps churches stay open and in use, commissioned a survey of more than 3,000 churches from various denominations across the UK. It found that one in 20 churches, which it said was equivalent to about 2,000 churches UK-wide, said they would either 'definitely or probably' not be used as a place of worship by 2030.

Overall, almost two-thirds (64%) of churches said they were confident they would 'definitely' remain open.