Churches hit by hundreds of thefts and acts of vandalism

A total of 518 crimes were committed involving a church in the region in the last year, according to figures released by the Countryside Alliance following a Freedom of Information request.

More than half were reported to West Midlands Police with 294 crimes reported, including 64 cases of general theft, 20 cases of lead theft, 64 cases of criminal damage and 146 cases of violence.

There were 143 crimes reported to West Mercia Police, including 66 general theft, 10 cases of lead theft, 53 cases of criminal damage and 14 cases of violence.

There were 81 crimes reported to Staffordshire Police, including five cases of lead theft, 40 cases of general thefts, 24 cases of criminal damage and 12 cases of violence.

One example was an incident at St Luke's Church in Cannock, where a man was caught on CCTV throwing a rock at the automatic doors at the front of the church, smashing the glass.

The incident, which happened on September 13, was dealt with after the man handed himself into police, but caretaker Mike Heeley said there were other crime issues around the church.

He said: "We do have a few drug and alcohol issues outside the church, as there are that many hiding places around the church where people go to take drugs and drink alcohol.

"The incident in September was bad because of the glass being smashed and having to be taken off to be replaced, but at least the police dealt with it."

Church Warden Janice Middleton said the town centre location did leave the church more open to acts of vandalism, but praised the police for their work in the area.

She said: "Being a town centre church does attract that type of behaviour due to close proximity of drinking establishments.

"I will say that we always get a very good response from the local police."

Other attacks in the region have occurred at Beacon Community Church in Burntwood, where a brick was thrown through the window of the building among several other acts of vandalism.

Mount Shilol Apostolic Church, in Wolverhampton, has also suffered from a burglary, with thieves stealing a microwave and food from the kitchen.

Across the UK, some 5,831 crimes have been reported at churches and religious buildings, after 40 of 45 UK police forces responded to the FOI request from the Countryside Alliance.

Sarah Lee of the Countryside Alliance spoke of the need to help protect places of worship and stop criminals from targeting churches.

She said: "We need to ramp up access to a greater amount of funding from the protective security scheme and ensure the scheme remains available going forward.

"It will also require greater vigilance from the public, particularly in rural areas, where suspicious activity must be reported to police."