Music from The Verve, candles and special lighting will be used to attract pub and club-goers to a special late-night outdoor communion service in Bradford city centre on Friday.

The unusual service - thought to be the first of its type in the city - has been devised by controversial vicar, the Reverend Robin Gamble, in a bid to make young people think about God's existence.

Mr Gamble, who has used the music of Queen, the Beatles and Blur to spread the word in the past said the service outside the Virgin Mega Store at 10pm was directly aimed at revellers.

"It's not just for churchgoers, its for anybody interested in getting in touch with the spiritual side of life," he said.

"There is more to life than telly, lager and the World Cup. A French schoolgirl read out a statement when the World Cup started saying football would take people to a better world but it's never going to do that in a month of Sundays.

"I have watched thousands of hours of football in years and it's never come within sniffing distance of a better world.

"But communing with God and our spiritual selves - that's the real way to the better world."

He added: "I hope that people watching will want to join in but there will be people who want to remain on the fringe and I hope anyone present will sense something special."

The service, known as an agape, will last for about half an hour and consist of bread breaking and worship underneath soft lighting.

Mr Gamble said: "I don't think I have ever heard of it happening before in this way. Those of us in the team have never done anything like this before."

It is the latest effort by Mr Gamble, the Bradford Diocesan adviser on evangelism, to reach the young adult population so rarely seen on the pews of Anglican churches.

"It's bringing Christianity out of the churches," he said.

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