When does street preaching become anti-social?

Rev Don Balkaran feels the new restrictions are "very unreasonable and out of order"

Religious groups have received anti-social behaviour warning notices for the way they promote their faith to city centre shoppers.

Leicester City Council put a new public spaces protection order (PSPO) in place from 2 April to tackle issues including riding e-scooters, drinking, playing loud music and begging in the city centre.

But a number of religious groups have told the BBC they have received warnings for using loudspeakers and setting up street stalls and banners near the city's Clock Tower.

Members of the groups have said they feel they are being unfairly targeted as a public nuisance for exercising their right to religious free speech.

Gospel singers holding a large Jesus flag in Leicester

The BBC found groups from the Christian and Islamic faiths and the Hare Krishna movement in the area near the Clock Tower in the space of two days.

Rev Don Balkaran said he had been given a leaflet explaining the new PSPO, which included a new ban on the amplifier that he uses to preach and sing.

Mr Balkaran said he came to the city centre to promote his faith three times a week and felt as though "the whole town is telling us to get lost".

"I think the ban is out of order and very unreasonable," he added.

Members of several churches sing gospel songs at the Clock Tower

Bon Okocha, from the Universal Pentecostal Church, said they had also been told to remove banners and temporary structures.

"I think it's pretty hard-hitting on a lot of us, especially the Christian community and even the Muslim community as well," he added.

"It's been a tradition of Leicester for quite some time and it has always been done in an amicable manner so it is quite shocking."

A group of gospel singers told the BBC they felt the amplification ban is "extreme".

Bon Okocha is from the Universal Pentecostal Church

Princess Omoregbee wants to hear people express themselves

Princess Omoregbee, who was among the group, said she believed loudspeakers should be allowed.

She said: "We want to hear people speak, we want to hear people express themselves."

Another group, called Light and Life Missions, was also using a loudspeaker to play Christian music as they handed out Bibles and Bible tracts.

Members of the group said they felt the warnings issued by the city council were taking away the right to free speech for all the religious groups gathered in the area.

Members of Light and Life Missions play Christian music and give out Bibles

Fahad Kadri, who volunteers at a street stall which hands out Qurans and Islamic literature, said: "The council very politely came across just mentioning that tables like this won't be allowed, but if you're standing here you might be OK.

"There are five or six things that are part of the new rules, one of those being bikes and e-scooters going through town centres.

"I can see why you would ban them, because they are quite dangerous with that many people there, but tables like this are fairly harmless."

Fahad Kadri volunteers at the Islamic literature stall

Nearby, a group from the Hare Krishnas were chanting to the sound of chimes and a drum, but were not using loudspeakers or obstructions that are affected by the new restrictions.

Other groups said they were now taking advice on how they could comply with the new rules.

The restrictions have been introduced by the city council after more than 1,000 residents responded to a public consultation.

Nine of out 10 people supported action to address unlicensed amplification and loudspeakers.

One Saturday shopper, who welcomed the crackdown, said it was "sometimes so loud you can't hear yourself think".

One hundred pound fines will be issued for breaches of the PSPO from May.

Those fines will rise to a £1,000 for any prosecution that leads to a conviction.

'Big amplifiers'

Sir Peter Soulsby, mayor of Leicester, said the PSPO did not ban religious groups from the city centre, but did aim to deter them from "unnecessary and intensely irritating behaviour".

He added: "There has been overwhelming support for this and there are two issues. One is setting up stalls without going through the necessary process, so you don't get them on every street corner.

"The other is the use of big amplifiers to blast their message out across the city centre.

"No-one is stopping them from going out there and seeking to win converts and convince people, but what we are saying is do it in a responsible way and do not make a nuisance of yourself."