Church hall counting the cost of vandal attacks

Rough sleepers have turned the corner of a churchyard into an open air toilet in an area dogged by anti-social behaviour.

A parishioner at Spalding Parish Church had to clean up the make-do outside loo, believed to have been used by at least one homeless person sleeping outside the nearby church hall.

The problem is one of a catalogue to have plagued the St Nicolas Hall in The Vista in recent months – prompting the town’s police to step up patrols in the area. In April a gang went on the rampage at the hall, shattering dozens of panes of glass in the doors and windows, smashing crockery and leaving behind evidence of drinking and drug use.

A pool of blood on the hall’s rear steps and a bloody trail leading into the town centre suggested one of the vandals had been quite badly cut.

This week the hall has suffered another broken window and the week before a window was smashed and a downpipe damaged. A spokesman for the parish church said: “Since the attack last month we have had a couple of small windows broken at the side of the hall and someone tried to climb a downpipe, damaging that.

“We believe someone is sleeping rough around the hall and one of our parishioners discovered an outside toilet in the churchyard.

“Someone volunteered to clean it up, but it isn’t a very nice thing to have to do.

“We continue to suffer low level vandalism and it’s the time and energy we spend to deal with each incident, as well as the financial cost.

“We are insured but there is an excess of £100, so with the small panes it’s not worth claiming so that cost comes out of the parish funds.

“The hall is a 1960s building and there are a lot of ongoing maintenance and repair costs so paying out for this type of thing is not at all helpful.”

Nearby Ayscoughfee Hall and Gardens has also fallen victim to vandals in recent weeks, as has the Social Services building. Spalding’s Community Policing Inspector Jim Tyner said he believed there were three distinct groups involved in anti-social behaviour in the area.

•  School-age children gathering immediately after school until about 6pm
•  Older teenagers from 6pm until dusk
•  Adult street drinkers after dark

He said: “This area seems to be a continuing focus for anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.

“Large groups, mainly youths, are gathering at the location and causing this anti-social behaviour and criminal damage.

“This occurs mostly in the evenings, leaving behind litter and discarded bottles.

“Alcohol is involved, however that’s not always the case.

“Members of the public are subjected to the anti-social behaviour when going about their lawful business.

“We have stepped up patrols in the area and are also working with local groups to seek alternative ways of diverting them away from the area.”