Outrage at Wilkinson music video showing half-naked couple kissing on church altar

The DJ has since removed the provocative scene from the video for Half Light

In another scene from the video, the young couple are seen kissing passionately in a nightclub (YouTube)

Music artist Wilkinson has been forced to edit his latest video to remove controversial scenes filmed on a church altar.

The video for single “Half Light”, which reached number 25 in the charts earlier this month, depicts a young couple who meet in a club and spend a hedonistic night together .

But despite its commercial success, it wasn’t well received by the Good Shepherd Chapel in Belfast - because of a scene showing the lovers half naked and embracing on the altar.

The Catholic institute described the film as a “desecration” and said it had not granted permission for the church to be used as the backdrop for the erotic antics.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, local director Aoife McArdle was given the go-ahead to use the church, but when priests Father Patrick McKenna and Father Robert Fullerton saw the results they were horrified by the manner in which it had been used.

In a statement read out at Mass on Sunday, Father Fullerton said: “The behaviour in the video was a desecration of the church and caused most grievous distress to the parish priest."

The statement, released by the Down and Connor diocese on behalf of the church, added: “If viewed by the parishioners, it would cause severe hurt and distress to the wider parish community.

“For these reasons, to protect the church and its parishioners, the Diocese of Down and Connor immediately brought these concerns to the attention of the distributors and creators of the material.”

“No permission was either sought or granted to film the interior of the parish church within the context of any conduct or activities that were not relating to prayer or homage and in accordance with the sanctity of the church.”