A man who’s bought a disused church and renovated it into a gym has banned customers from swearing.

41-year-old Joe Newbold bought Culmstock Methodist Church in Devon for £93,000 and transformed it into his gym, called Mypremcoach.

He said those that come to exercise are asked to keep cursing “to a minimum” because he still views the building as a holy site.

Newbold told SWNS: ”Of course people are used to grunting or cursing under their breath in the gym when their trainer makes them do some extra reps, but I guess we’ll have to try and keep that to a minimum now we’re in a church”.

The gym, which opened in the first week of the year still looks very much like a church. Newbold said he wanted to keep a lot of its features to offer something unique.

"We still have touches of the former chapel, such as memorials and carvings in the wall, and stained glass windows, as trying to keep the unique features was a big part of it,” he said.

He told Premier locals have expressed that they’re happy to see the church has been given "new life". 

Listen to Premier's interview with Joe Newbole here: