An Alsager church has announced it is registering to conduct same sex marriages to "move with the times".

Wesley Place Methodist Church has gone public on social media to announce it is making the move which it says is "long overdue".

And its minister says the congregation is behind the change which looks set to see same sex marriages at the church by Christmas.

The Lawton Road church has been serving the Alsager community for over 150 years.

Its minister, Rev Rob Hilton, told Alsager Nub News: "At Wesley Place, there hasn't been any falling out over it.

"I haven't heard any opinion other than 'it's long overdue and it's time we did this, come on let's move with the times."

Rev Hilton says same sex marriage has been divisive in the wider Methodist community in the past and an ethos of 'contradictory convictions' has been adopted in which individual members can agree to disagree.

He said ""There are some people in some churches that are dead against it.

"Very few people have resigned because they just can't get used to the idea but I think it's fair to say looking at the figures that I think broadly about three quarters of the Methodist Church are quite happy to be in favour of same sex marriages.

"The national consensus has been looked at as being kind to each other."

Rev Hilton hopes the registration paperwork will be finished soon, and estimates that same-sex marriages will be happening in Wesley Place by Christmas at the very latest.

This announcement comes four months after the Methodist Church became the biggest religious denomination in Britain to permit same sex marriages.

A motion was passed overwhelmingly with a vote of 254 in favour to 46 against in June.

The registering of same sex marriages, along with a message of openness to all for services of blessings and the marking of significant life events was mentioned in the most recent newsletter.

The "God in Love Unites Us Report" was sighted as paving the way for churches to be able to register for same sex marriage.

This report, published two years ago, opened discussion for the diversity of human sexuality and concluded with a call to the Methodist Church to be open and positive about sexual relationships, and continue to widen its understanding of marriage.

Wesley Place Church notes that it is recognising signs of bullying and exclusion and cites justice, dignity and solidarity as driving forces of change.

Speaking on the debate around transgender rights, Rev Hilton emphasises that love and compassion is extended to all by the Methodist Church.

He believes that debates surrounding transgender people and identities are conversations with people, rather than discussions about issues.

He said: "At the heart of the Christian faith is an understanding that all people are made in the image of God.

"Anybody- it may be somebody wrestling with their sexuality, wrestling with their gender identity or somebody whose gender identity others find difficult to understand.

"To me the important point is that a person is made in the image of God. That image of God is found inside everyone.

"For all of us the discovery of who we are as human beings is an amazing adventure of a journey to go on. So I would just want to be welcoming, open and affirming to all people."