Community 'devastated' after fire rips through Christ Apostolic Church building in Glasgow overnight

A local community is “devastated” after a blaze ripped through a church in Glasgow overnight.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze at Christ Apostolic Church on Govan Road at around 1.17am on Friday.

Smoke could be seen for miles and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dispatched three appliances to the scene to tackle the flames that took hold of the building.

STV News understands the church had recently undergone renovations worth around £20,000 prior to the fire.

Akande Babatunde from the Christ Apostolic Church said the fire has caused devastation, but he has been heartened by the outpouring of support.

He said: “The community and the church are very devastated. The main thing is that this is a place of worship and a place of refuge, so having that no more has been shocking to everybody.

“The church, the community, people passing in the morning, are just shocked that this has happened, because the church has been existing for 14 or 15 years here, in this same building, so it is an unfortunate incident and it is hard to comprehend.

“We have received a lot of support from the wider community, and from social media.”