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Church regulars were banned from singing carols outside an upmarket supermarket store on Saturday because they wanted to collect for charity.

Members of the congregation at St Mary the Virgin Church in Ponteland have regularly spread festive cheer by performing outside what is now the town’s Waitrose store each Christmas.

But this year they have been banned from singing there – because they wanted to collect for Christian Aid.

Store bosses insisted they could have performed outside the supermarket but only if they would not collect for charity.

The singers have performed outside the store the weekend before Christmas for more than 10 years, going back to when it was owned by Safeway.

On Saturday, however, they went outside the Co-op store on Broadway.

A spokesman for Waitrose said: “The group is very welcome to come and sing, we simply asked them to not collect money. Due to the volume of charity collection requests at this time of year we focus on those supporting local causes.

"For example this weekend the shop has a scout group and air cadets bag packing for them, and recently they have welcomed the local Rotary Club. This is in addition to the shop’s own community activity, which includes donating £1000 a month to local good causes in the community.”

Richard Bevens, manager of the Waitrose store, said: “We try not to get involved with anything to do with religion or politics when people are doing requests for collections and charities.”

He added: “We get hundreds and hundreds of requests. We have to be very careful of what we say yes or no to.”

Coun Peter Jackson, a county councillor for Ponteland, said he was surprised at the decision.

He added: “I would like to think they would review the situation. It is the season of goodwill to all.”