A former professional badminton player has called a new initiative from Badminton England to make use of church halls to expand the game "a great opportunity for churches to serve the local community".

Lisa Elliott, who now works for Christians in Sport (CIS), also warned churches against "taking advantage" by pressuring players to also attend church events.

"I think it's brilliant for the sport to try and encourage more people to play sport to get active to some that maybe haven't had the opportunity to play. So I think for badminton clubs to be able to use different venues, it could be really exciting," she said.

A new strategy launched by Badminton England aims to make the sport the "most inclusive and accessible" in the country by opening up 200 new spaces in which to play.

Alongside working with schools, the governing body sees faith spaces as important facilities in a bid to grow the estimated 1 million people who play badminton in England.

"So it's a brilliant opportunity to be able to serve the local community to be able to show hospitality to welcome them, I think that's a really great way for the church to be involved" Elliott told Premier.

"I think they need to be a little bit careful once you get people into the building, not to take advantage of that in any way and say if you're coming in then you've got to come to these events, or to put conditions on them using in the hall.

"But I think it is a really good chance to bring people in to build friendships, and to build relationships with people in the local community, and to pray and to see where that might lead in the in the future."

Christians in Sport works with sportspeople to help them live out and share their faith in Jesus with those in their sport.