Worshippers have returned to churches in Scotland after a judge ruled coronavirus regulations that forced their closure were unlawful.

Instead of a blanket ban, a limit of 50 people has been employed where churches are large enough to offer 2m social distancing.

St Mary’s Catholic Church in Calton in east Glasgow was among the churches to reopen yesterday, welcoming believers for midday Mass.

Canon Tom White was involved in the legal action and he said that he was “delighted” at the outcome.

He told the PA news agency: “I think it’s an important victory not so much dependent on your disposition towards how we keep each other safe in this time of pandemic, but it’s how we make sure that how we act as a liberal democracy is proportionate and that we don’t at all costs trample on the rights of others.

“Authentic worship is about gathering together as a community, authentic worship for us in the Catholic tradition is about coming together in a building which is sacred and participating in a sacred space at a sacred time and the sacraments necessarily are tangible, they’re not virtual. Faith is real, it’s tangible and people in this time of pandemic need to embrace the sacred.”

He said that his parishioners were “delighted” and “over the moon” at being able to take part in communal worship again.