Stand-up comedian and comedy writer Paul Kerensa attracted a full house to Liphook’s Church Centre for a free night of side-splitting laughter and great food.

Born in Truro, Cornwall, Paul entertained the audience with tales from his childhood, which included 99 operations, his passion for Star Wars and his admission to being a film and maths geek, as well as starting a lunchtime maths club.

A married man with two children and a dog, he revealed plenty of humorous tales about his personal life, before talking about his religious beliefs.

Paul admitted to being a fan of the best-selling book of all time - the Bible - and even has the app on his smartphone.

He surprised the audience with a rendition of Don McLean’s hit song American Pie for which he composed a set of lyrics condensing the entire contents of the Bible into a five-minute set.

"Every time I perform this version, which I call spoken word poetry, people love it and want to hear more," he told the Herald.

"This is the only one I have actually recorded, but I have composed other versions, for instance to Eminem and Dido’s hit song Stan. I recently met Dido and when she heard it, she loved it."

Paul has also written numerous books, including Genesis: The Bibluffer’s Guide, So a Comedian Walks Into a Church, as well as children’s books entitled Noah’s Car Park Ark and Moses and the Exodus Express and has been described as a church-hopper.

A writer for BBC1’s Miranda and Not Going Out, among countless others, Paul is the in-demand comic who plays comedy clubs and cathedrals. His one-man show has played to packed-out venues over the past few years, including the Edinburgh Fringe and Montreal Comedy Festival.

Recently he has been part of the writing teams for TFI Friday and Top Gear, was praised by Ricky Gervais as ’very funny’ and has won awards from the BBC, ITV and the Evening Standard, who thought he was "ingenious".

The "taster" evening was organised by Reverend Valentine Inglis Jones and Charlotte Patrick, to launch the new Liphook Church Alpha Course, where people can relax, eat, share thoughts, discover what Christianity is about and explore the meaning of life.

The Alpha Course takes place every Thursday, starting today and ending on June 11, between 7.30pm and 9pm.

For more information email [email protected] or call her on 077399 18126.