The Westboro Baptist Church was forced to cancel its plans to protest at Leonard Nimoy's funeral at the weekend when no-one would tell them where it was.

The group often descends upon the funerals of celebrities and soldiers with neon signs filled with homophobic slurs, but couldn't locate the late Star Trek actor's after planners decided to make the memorial private.

"Leonard Nimoy's funeral is today, but nobody is sharing WHERE. So Westboro AND @WilliamShatner can't attend :(" the church wrote on Twitter.

The reference to Shatner came after Nimoy's co-star said he sadly would be unable to attend due to his being committed to a Red Cross ball in Florida. "I feel really awful," the 83-year-old tweeted. "Here I am doing charity work and one of my dearest friends is being buried.

Update: The church has insinuated that I too am going to hell, what a time to be alive!

"I chose to honor a commitment I made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser. A lot of money was raised. So here I am; tell me off."