Villagers facing financial ruin after handing over £500,000 to failed church musical

Villagers have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in savings after a musical organised by their church and set for star-studded arena tour collapsed.

Members of the congregation of the International Church said that they were told that by donating they were "giving to God" but some now face losing their homes after the Christian musical's arena tour was cancelled.

Heaven on Earth, based on the story of Adam and Eve, grew from the "dream" of a local church into a glitzy  production starring Kerry Ellis and Hugh Maynard and featuring tenor Russell Watson as the voice of God.

But just three weeks before the start of a six-month nationwide tour which included shows at Manchester and Wembley arenas the show went bust with debts of £2.6million.

It is believed to be one of the largest ever debts in relation to a collapsed theatre production.

Among those who have lost out are around 30 people in the Nottinghamshire village of Mansfield Woodhouse, who are owed roughly £500,000 between them.

Some are said to have remortgaged their homes to help the independent church fund the production.

Yessika Oakley, 34,  told the BBC that her family donated thousands towards the project as the church were asking for large sums of money to fund the production.

"Because they did it in the name of God, they were put under the pressure that if you didn't give, you're not being faithful and God isn't going to be very happy with you," she said.

She added: "What's wrong with all of it is that it was somebody's dream. And it's OK to have a dream, but don't use other people's money for it. They should have never used people's money."

Audrey Beardal, 80, who claims that she was driven to a bank and asked to take out £3,000 in savings, said that as a result of the collapse of the show some villagers have had to sell their homes.

Another former member of the congregation, Lindsey, said that the church leaders though it would be  "a God-given tool to win nations, to change the world".

She added: "It's a lot when you're sat in your little church in Mansfield Woodhouse, you think it's a nice idea, something a little bit different but when you hear they want it to go worldwide you think, 'that's a bit extreme'."

Members of the cast, costume makers, those involved in the production of the show and the arenas are also owed money, documents show.

Paul Fleming, from the actor's union Equity, said that it was unusual for a production of this size to collapse at the last minute and it has left their members struggling.

He said: "It was an incredibly peculiar, speculative bet for people who have never produced a show before."

Despite the congregation being told that God would provide the rest of the money needed the show ran out of cash in late 2017 and the company set up to produce it, Eden International Productions, went into administration.

The International Church has also gone bust in the wake of the failure, and the Charity Commission have asked liquidators to keep them informed of developments.

Because both organisations are being liquidated it is unlikely that many of the creditors will see their money returned.

Neither the church leaders nor directors of the production approached by the Telegraph were willing to discuss the claims.

One of the directors told the BBC they were sorry for everyone who had lost money but insisted that it was donated on a "free will" basis.