Churches in Britain suffer 10 crimes a day as public urged to report vandals to police
Churches across the UK suffer crime 10 times a day amid warnings that reduced funding has left places of worship struggling to defend themselves against a spike in vandalism.
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Last year, there were 4,000 crimes committed across church property and other religious sites.
Most incidents - 3,637 - were of theft, burglary, criminal damage, vandalism and assault while 172 were crimes of different categories.
The Countryside Alliance, which obtained the figures, has warned places of worship are being treated as "easy targets" by vandals and urged the public to report crimes to police.
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The campaign group sent Freedom of Information requests to all of the UK’s 45 police forces, with only 37 of them providing figures, meaning the true number of crimes will likely be even higher.
London was the worst hit area, with 531 crimes reported by the Metropolitan Police (and an additional 30 by City of London Police), followed by West Yorkshire (with 445 recorded crimes) and Greater Manchester (with 172 recorded crimes).
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch described churches as the "heart of the community, a source of local pride and part of a history stretching back hundreds of years."
She added: "We must do what we can to protect our churches from this level of criminality."
The Conservative leader has pledged to restore funding to the listed places of worship grant scheme if the party were elected, which offered grants of up to £25,000 towards the VAT paid on repairs and renovations.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said: “Across the country, churches and places of worship continue to suffer, as vandals, thieves and other criminals treat them as easy targets."
He added: “At the same time as it appears crime is going up, funding is going down. The Government has this year imposed VAT on church repairs, increasing costs for hard-pressed and vulnerable churches while at the same time refusing to increase funding in line with inflation.”
In one example in February, at St Mary and St Martin, Blyth, Nottinghamshire, criminals kicked in a historic stained glass window to break into the church costing thousands of pounds to replace.
They also overturned furniture, scrawling graffiti inside the building and damaging the altar cross.
Last year, thieves targeted St Margaret of Antioch Church in Barley, Hertfordshire, stealing £25,000 worth of historic silverware including chalices, a communion wine jug and a communion plate.
Mr Metcalf-Fisher continued: “We cannot allow this to continue. Churches and places of worship are focal points for local communities, particularly in rural towns and villages where they play a crucial role in combating isolation.
"It is vital that the public keep a watchful eye and report any issues to the police."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We will provide record funding this year to protect places of worship and are working closely with police to protect communities.
“As part of our landmark policing reforms, we’re putting 13,000 more neighbourhood officers into roles to tackle local crime across England and Wales.”
Later this year the government will begin accepting applications for the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme providing up to £5 million funding for CCTV, intruder alarms, secure fencing for religious buildings.