THE first ever Messy Church version of the board game Monopoly was played for real on the streets of London by teams from churches from around the UK.

Eight teams took to the streets of the capital with the aim of visiting 22 different streets and sites from the board game, and taking photos in each one. To prove that each photo had been taken that day, it had to feature the day's mascot - a pair of yellow rubber gloves.

In place of the utilities and railways stations on the original Monopoly board, teams had to find four different sorts of church, and also, using placards displaying the five Messy Church values, take photos of examples of each of these, or become an image of one of the values: hospitality, creative, celebration, Christ-centred, and intergenerational.

Andrew, a team member from St Mark's, Tattenham Corner, who was celebrating his 12th birthday, took a birthday cake and candles with him on his journey.

Photos included the Salvation Army's handing out hospitality to the crowds waiting for a view of the royal family, and policemen releasing two members of one team from arrest, as a "Get out of jail free" card.

The day began and ended at Oasis Church, in Waterloo, with a prayer for the day said over the teams by the creator of the original Messy Church, Lucy Moore.

All the teams finished with a meal together six hours later. The day sought to raise money for the central Bible Reading Fellowship/ Messy Church team, to enable them to support more Messy Church start-ups. The team from St Mark's won the day's challenge.

Martin Payne, from Messy Church, said: "How appropriate that the game of Monopoly . . . should be the focus for Messy Churches' coming together to support Messy Churches. It's a game that's . . . often played when the generations come together on special occasions.

"In the same way, Messy Church is bringing children, parents, and grandparents together around the story of Jesus, helping to create new intergenerational communities."