No accounts have been filed since 2017

A Scottish church group operating as a charity has had its assets frozen by the charities watchdog.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has published an interim report on the AK McCosh Trust for Coulter Church saying it has so far been unable to determine whether the church is still a place of worship.

OSCR launched a probe into the charity in April, after receiving concerns that the church was no longer operational.

The regulator said it has concerns about the charity’s governance as a result of its inquiries.

In its report, OSCR said it had “safeguarded” the assets of the church by directing it not to part with them over the next six months, without the consent of the regulator.

Annual accounts were last filed by the charity in 2017 with its income and expenditure showing £0.

Coulter Church, near Biggar in South Lanarkshire, was sold by the Church of Scotland in 2016.

OSCR said it needed to undertake further inquiries to determine whether the charity was “providing public benefit in furtherance of its charitable purposes and to consider the charity’s governance”.