YOU'VE heard of the Fantasy Football League - but in December 1996, a Fantasy Preacher League was dreamt up by two church regulars in Taunton.

Editors of the St James' Church Magazine Nic Tall and Richard Sainsbury, said it gave people the chance to select a team of bishops, ministers and lay readers hey think will take them to the top of their legue.

Each preacher earned numerous points for length of sermon, number of tenuous links with the Bible reading and the frequency with which they put their glasses on and off.

Other points may be earned for a funny walk up to the pulpit and reading the lesson in a comedy accent.

During family services, bonus points were for the number of children lured to the front of the church with those holding visual aids scoring double.

Nic said: "We have only recently taken over the magazine and want t make it more light-hearted.

"The Fantasy Preacher League is only a joke at the moment but if we get inundated with enquiries then maybe we will have to think starting it for real."