Ex-bingo hall reopens as a church

The old Carlton Bingo club building was also a cinema

An old bingo hall in Edinburgh which has been converted into the "grooviest" contemporary church in Scotland is to open its doors on Sunday.

The former Carlton Bingo club on, Gorgie Road, has been transformed into a rock gospel venue equipped with huge screen and cinema seats.

Many churches are closing down and being turned into flats, but Destiny Church has outgrown its Leith venue.

The new venue, with a community centre and cafe, can hold 900 people.

The bingo club, which opened in 1973, finally shut its doors in June 2006 after business dwindled in the wake of the smoking ban.

Destiny Church, with its congregation of 450, bought the building after raising £300,000 in just six months.

This is going to be the grooviest, funkiest church in Scotland Pastor Peter Anderson Destiny Church

Before functioning as a Bingo Hall, the building was the Tivoli cinema.

Pastor Peter Anderson and associate pastor Graeme Williamson, who trained as architects, said they were keen to see the building restored to its former glory.

The church will continue to host its 1830 BST service in Leith, while running the 1100 BST service at the new Gorgie site.

Pastor Anderson told the BBC Scotland news website: "I got dragged along to a normal church when I was a kid and my opinion was that it was irrelevant and it frustrated me that they acted all holy on a Sunday and then we knew how they lived on a Monday.

"This is going to be the grooviest, funkiest church in Scotland with multi-media and a contemporary presentation.

"It's looking very cool at the moment with cinema seats, a huge screen and a cafe."