THIS Bristol woman is to go on trial for allegedly interrupting church services by making too much noise.

Mother-of-eight Jean Gardner-Cato is being prosecuted under the rarely-used Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860 for allegedly disturbing services at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Horfield.

Gardner-Cato denied interrupting, shouting, or causing a disturbance at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church between October 10, 2009, and February 13 this year.

James King, prosecuting, told Bristol magistrates yesterday: "This is an allegation that this lady has gone to this church in Muller Road and caused a disturbance and continued to do so a number of times. She had been going to the Seventh- Day Adventist Church in St Paul's and caused a nuisance and they had got an injunction against her.

"According to a statement from an elder of the church, the church was placed into Horfield United Reform Church. They have been advised they cannot get a similar injunction because they do not own the property that they occupy.

"Public interest was considered and it was decided that this case does require prosecution.

"She constantly interrupted services, caused a scene and accused people, in public, of having affairs with other members of the congregation."

Mr King said that there would be five prosecution witnesses called at trial, including three members of the congregation and two police officers.

The offence can only be dealt with by magistrates and is subject to a fine or up to a maximum of two months in prison.

Ruth Cormack, defending, said: "Her defence is in essence that she was simply worshipping in a normal way that did not cause a nuisance or disrupt."

Speaking after the hearing, Gardner-Cato, 51, who claims to have a prophetic gift, said she had a human right to be allowed to continue worshipping.

She told the Evening Post: "They are trying to make out that I am a person who comes in and disrupts the services.

"There are members of the congregation who do not agree with what is happening.

"I have been going to this church since I was a child. I am not a person who has behaviour that is anti-social or needs to be banned from a church but that is the image they are trying to present."

Gardner-Cato, of Sussex Place, Montpelier, will have a one-day trial on June 9. She was released on conditional bail that she does not attend the Seventh-Day Adventist Church at Horfield.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a Millennialist Protestant Christian denomination that was founded in the 1860s in the USA.

Adventists celebrate the Sabbath and worship on a Saturday when they are expected to abstain from watching sport or non-religious television programmes. They live modest lives, with a strict code of ethics. They do not smoke or drink alcohol and recommend a vegetarian diet.

Meat is permitted, but only following Biblical commandments on clean and unclean food.

Missionary work is very important to the church and all Adventists believe they have a duty to share their beliefs with others.

There are nearly 25,000 Seventh-Day Adventists in the UK with around 14 million Seventh-Day Adventists worldwide, all of whom believe that Jesus Christ will soon return to Earth.