St Mary’s Church in Heworth raided a fourth time

Mar 14 2009 by Liz Hands, The Journal

A CONGREGATION was left reeling after its church was ransacked by thieves for the fourth time this year.

This time, a £1,000 computer – donated last year after a previous theft – was snatched from St Mary’s Church in Heworth.

The thieves broke through two stained glass windows, leaving £1,300 worth of damage and also taking a printer and software worth nearly £500.

This came just days after a previous act of vandalism caused damage to windows.

It also follows on from a long string of recent crimes committed in the grounds of the church.

These include an arson attack, vandalism and the theft of £350. In one bizarre turn, members of the 70-strong congregation were horrified to find that a skinned rabbit had been left on a gravestone in the cemetery.

The Reverend Val Shedden, 52, is the vicar at St Mary’s. Even she had her purse stolen from the church.

She said: “We feel as if we’re under siege at the minute and people are starting to feel anxious about going to the church. However, all of this is making us more resilient than ever.

“I wish I knew who it was who was doing all of this. My instinct tells me that it is possibly someone who is desperate because they went to a lot of effort for little reward when they broke in.”

And now she is taking action.

To fight the plague of crime, security equipment is being installed, including CCTV, lighting and an alarm system.

But the costs of protection, which may reach up to £10,000, are threatening to cripple the church budget.

“The money will have to come out of church funds. We haven’t got endless resources – the church is in desperate need of being rewired and this is going to prevent us doing from doing that,” added Rev Shedden.

“We are fundraising all the time and there is only so much that members of our congregation can do and give. If anyone from outside the congregation could help that would be great.”

Chris Edmundson, 48, is the managing director at Microcomputing ltd, the firm that donated the computer in May last year.

He said: “I think it’s a disgrace the way the church has been treated. It horrifies me that the church is in the papers for all the wrong reasons.”

Police said: “Between 10pm on Tuesday, March 10, and 9.30am on Wednesday, March 11, a window was smashed at St Mary’s Church on Shields Road in Felling, Gateshead, and electrical equipment taken from inside the building. Inquiries are ongoing.”