|TOP|A minister of the Dudley Wood Methodist Church in the West Midlands has been told he needs to pay £75 (€110) to put a wooden cross up outside his church, which is being charged as an ‘advert.’

Minister Paul Nzacahayo approached Dudley council to share his plans on placing a cross outside the Dudley Wood Methodist Church, which is being converted from an old school building. But the minister was informed that under current legislation, a cross was an advert for the Christian faith and needed to be paid for.

Nzacahayo said: "I think this rule is utterly ridiculous and I am very upset that such regulations exist." Dr Nzacahayo added the only thing he and the congregation wanted to sell was 'the word of the Gospel'.”

"The cross is a symbol of our faith and to say it is an advert is getting the wrong end of the stick completely," he added.|QUOTE|

Dudley Council spokesman Phil Parker denied that it was the council being heavy-handed. "All such crosses are defined as advertisements in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

"It is national legislation which is laid down in law and not a judgment made by Dudley Council," he said.