The Countryside Alliance has called upon the government to commit to the protection of churches and other places of worship, after publishing a report showing the extent of crime targeting religious buildings.
Using Freedom of Information (FoI) requests sent to every British police force, the Countryside Alliance found that many areas experience hundreds of crimes targeting churches every year.
From 2022-2024, West Yorkshire was the worst hit area, suffering 1,121 crimes targeting religious buildings. The figure was nearly double the next highest figure, which was 655 crimes in Kent, followed by 642 in Greater Manchester.
Essex was also severely impacted, with 500 crimes affecting churches in the period.
To counter the problem, the Countryside Alliance has said the government’s Listed Places of Worship (LPW) Grant Scheme and the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme, which help churches pay repair and security costs, should be made permanent.
Most of the crimes targeting churches involve theft or vandalism.
Speaking to the BBC, Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said, "If I think about my parish church outside Saffron Walden in Ugley, it's a beautiful church, but it is isolated.
"Lots of people, for a number of years, have had concerns about the security of their local church, whether it's anecdotal stories about lead being taken from the rooftops to donation tins being stolen."
As well as government support, Metcalf-Fisher noted that a vigilant local community could do much to prevent incidents of crime.
"We need any dog walkers, people out in the area, just keeping an eye on their churches, and that piece of intelligence to police could go a long way in protecting the future of those churches," he said.
One local church leader, Reverend David Ibiayo, of St Margaret’s Church, in Bowers Gifford, near Basildon, told the BBC that the local community had raised £10,000 via GoFundMe to repair the church after vandals broke in smashed up the church organ. The church, which is over 500 years old, has also had to install CCTV.
