Stained glass windows smashed during bungled break-in of West Hampstead church
Fr Andrew Foreshew-Cain, vicar at St James' church - Credit: Archant
A church in West Hampstead has suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage after a failed break-in saw precious stained glass windows smashed to pieces.
The criminals targeted St James’ in Sherriff Road at about midnight last night in what was thought to be an attempted theft from the church’s newly opened Post Office.
Thanks to a newly-installed security system, however, the bungled break-in saw the assailants run away empty handed.
But their acts did leave thousands of pounds worth of damage to the church’s main stained glass window.
Fr Andrew Foreshew-Cain, the church’s vicar, described the act as “very foolish”.
You may also want to watch:
He said: “They tried to cut into the Post Office, which is enclosed in a reinforced box, so they must have been in to look at the layout first.
“But we’ve got so many alarms here they’d never have been able to steal anything - the police came within five minutes of them going off.
Most Read
- 1 Camden's Levertons to arrange the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17
- 2 Primrose Hill to close at night this weekend after antisocial behaviour
- 3 The questions council 'must answer' after spending £23m on £10m office
- 4 Calls for law change after Highgate School sexual abuse allegations
- 5 Hampstead, Highgate and Primrose Hill beer gardens reopening on April 12
- 6 Prince Philip remembered in pictures: London Zoo visits and trips to the theatre
- 7 Arteta: Arsenal have 'responsibility' to qualify for Europe
- 8 This destruction of a woodland site must be halted
- 9 How a 'terrifying' Hampstead spree of robberies was brought to an end
- 10 Revealed: How council paid £23m for an office block valued at £10m
“St James has some particularly precious stained glass windows so it’s a real shame to see the damage.
“It will have to be repaired by a specialist.”
The Post Office saw its official opening at the church in August.