Campaigners at a church hall are celebrating after bagging almost £50,000 to help transform it into a community theatre.

The Immanuel & St Andrew hall in Streatham High Road will be given new lighting, curtains and cloakrooms following the £48,204 funding boost.

The cash will also be used to pay for improved wooden flooring, toilets and soundproofing, as well as replacing the existing asbestos ceiling.

Work has already begun to refurbish the building, which sees about 40,000 people attending various activities- such as zumba, karate, yoga, and one-off community events- every year.

Vicar Elizabeth Shearcroft, who has worked at the church for eight years, said: “We are pretty happy. They matched us penny for penny [on our bid].

“It means we can refurbish the community hall. The facilities are not bad but they were built a while ago.

“The soundproofing in particular will mean we can host events and classes simultaneously.”

Jools Granville, spokeswoman for the SITA Trust which supplied the funding, said: “This excellent community facility has a packed timetable of usage - reflected in its user numbers.

“The church committee has spent a significant amount of time developing this project and we hope our support will benefit a large range of users for years to come.”