Councillors in East Ayrshire have knocked back applications for grants to pay for a leaving lunch for a Cumnock church minister - and to help put on a Shrek musical.

Loudoun Musical Society (LMS) are putting their version of the new Broadway musical, itself based on the animated movie.

But their bid for grant support was refused after the society admitted they expected a sell-out at the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock.

In their grant application, they stated that they anticipated 3,000 people to attend, at between £16 and £18 a ticket – which would bring in between £48,000 and £54,000.

In their recommendation, council officers said that they were advising councillors to refuse the application due to the level of income expected through ticket sales and the amount that LMS had in their bank account.

A report to East Ayrshire Council's grants committee stated: “It is felt that they can meet this cost with their own funding.”

An application by St Andrew’s Free Church for £400 to pay for a ‘leaving lunch’ for the church minister was also refused.

The church asked the council to cover around 95 per cent of the cost of the dinner, only offering £20 from the church coffers.

This would cover dinner for 40 church members and 20 ‘dignitaries’.

The application revealed the church has almost £35,000 in its bank account.

In the council officer recommendation, it was stated that grants to religious organisations were only considered where the activity was not directly related to the practice of religion.

A report on the application said: “This grant is requested to provide a leaving lunch for the current church minister and therefore is directly related to church activity.”

It was also pointed out that the church also has a healthy bank balance and "can easily meet this cost from current church funds".