A LESBIAN couple have become the first people to have their civil partnership registered in a Bournemouth church.

The ceremony was held at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in Hannington Road, Pokesdown, which is the only church in the town to be approved as a registered building for civil partnerships.

Parliament changed the regulations last year to allow civil partnerships to take place in religious buildings.

The church’s pastor, the Rev Dwayne Morgan, said: “We have been offering wedding services for same-sex couples for many years in our church because we believe that God blesses the love of two people no matter what their gender.

“But previously couples had to go to the Town Hall to take care of the legal registering of the union. Now, thankfully, they can register it in our church and then have a church ceremony in the same place.”

The church is one of only around half a dozen in England that has taken advantage of the rule changes.

Government plans to allow full weddings for same sex couples could be enacted by next summer.

Mr Morgan added: “We at MCC are very hopeful that equal marriage will soon become a reality across the UK.

“It is long overdue for all couples, no matter their gender, to be treated equally. We welcome all couples to celebrate their love before God and gladly make our church available to them.”

The church is an ecumenical Christian church established in Bournemouth in 1979 with a special outreach to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. It is part of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.