A FRESHWATER church, which opened last year and holds baptisms in a car park hot tub, held a celebration on Sunday to launch its weekly meetings.

Kerith West Wight, launched by Islander Ben Britton, is part of the Kerith Community Church, a multi-site church based in Bracknell.

Ben said: "We originally started last January with monthly meetings at the West Wight Sports and Community Centre.

"By September, it was twice monthly and, at the start of this year, we moved to Freshwater Memorial Hall as we were running out of space.

"In May, we conducted our first baptisms using a hot tub in the car park and the service was attended by nearly 100 people."

To celebrate the launch of its weekly services, a party was held at the Memorial Hall, Freshwater, on Sunday, complete with a barbecue, a bouncy castle and a football cage.

The weekly services will commence on Sunday, September 15, at 10.30am.