Castel Church warden blasts ‘malicious’ vandalism of lights
VANDALISM to five free-standing lights could cost Castel Church more than £2,000 to repair.
Warden Chris Workman said the lights, which skirt the path that runs from the church hall past the cemetery to the bottom car park, had been deliberately damaged.
‘They’re free-standing poles and they’ve been kicked over or wrenched over.
‘They’re made of aluminium and have a strong base. It would have taken some force to knock them down.
‘They were all just flattened. Every single one. It’s just malicious.’
He said the church will have to cover the cost of the damage, which could rise further if they decide to use a stronger material to prevent future damage.
‘This path is part of the cemetery and the lights weren’t put in for the cemetery but for the church hall.
‘They won’t be covered by the church hall insurance because they’re not on that property.’
‘We might have to weld stainless steel poles to the base and put the lights on top to prevent similar incidents.’
Mr Workman believed someone could have deliberately targeted the lights because the path is rarely used, except by visitors to the cemetery or church hall.
He said pedestrians would be better served by using the path on the road side of the cemetery or by using the pavement, because aside from some light cast from the church the path was very dark.
That unfortunately meant catching the perpetrator could prove difficult, said Mr Workman.
‘No one would use this path at night because it is pitch black and there’s no CCTV, so the police have said it is unlikely they will catch anyone.’
Unless there was a car in the car park with headlights on, Mr Workman said it was unlikely there would be any witnesses.
He said the wardens had considered installing CCTV but that was costly and the church had incurred a number of expenses recently, including an upgrade to facilities in the church hall.
‘We’re just getting back into the black after those expenditures and we have to raid the fund again.
‘The storms have done some real damage to the Church lighting too.
‘We’re waiting for the right weather for the electricians to go up and fix it.’
n The police have appealed for anyone with information or who might have witnessed the incident between Friday 21 and Monday 24 February to contact PC Simmonds at police headquarters on 01481 725111 or Crimestoppers, if you wish to remain anonymous, on 0800 555 111.
