Crowd turned away from Milton Jones' Yeovil church gig

Milton is best known for his quick-fire puns and dramatic hairstyle

A Yeovil church had to turn away dozens of people after a TV comedian attracted a bigger crowd than the building could cope with.

Television comedian Milton Jones held a free one-off show at Elim Pentecostal Church as part of a national campaign to encourage people to attend service.

Milton Jones is a regular guest on Mock the Week and has made comedy shows like The Very World of Milton Jones.

Organisers had to start turning people away when numbers reached over 330.

This included several rows of people standing at the back.

'Dusty hymnbooks'

The comedian, who is a Christian himself and is known for his one liners and dishevelled haircut, spoke for about an hour to an appreciative crowd.

Rev'd Howard Davenport, senior pastor at Elim Pentecostal Church said: "It was an amazing night and we couldn't believe how many people turned up.

"It's not often you have to turn people away from a church but the building was heaving and we had to think about health and safety.

"It was a great chance to show people that churches aren't just dull places with dusty hymnbooks, but are at the centre of their community where people are allowed to laugh and have a good night out."

The pastor added that he wanted to say a big "thank you" to everyone who turned up, but also a big "sorry" to everyone disappointed by being turned away.