Vandalism at St. Helen's

This week there has been a spate of vandalism at St. Helen’s Church.

The bench at the side of the porch has been broken and is now beyond repair.

The oldest headstone in the churchyard has been broken into two pieces. It is dedicated to John Mitchinson who died on the 25th April 1787 at the age of 83 years and has been in the churchyard, undamaged, for almost 230 years.

The Hornbean tree at the side of the bench dedicated to the memory of Melvin Douglas has been snapped off close to the root. This is a slow growing tree and quite rare. It is unlikely to recover.

St Helen’s has a special place in the lives of the people of Skeffling. Many local families have more than two generations of relatives buried there.

The Churchyard is a place of peace for quiet reflection, but just recently has been turned into a playground by teenagers to display their cycling skills.

Whether the damage was deliberate or caused by accident, the behaviour of these teenagers was totally unacceptable and thoroughly disrespectful to the Church, those who spend time in the churchyard, and Skeffling as a whole.

Unfortunately the vandalism doesn’t end there.

It took many years and a lot of hard work by the people of Skeffling to create the children’s play area at the Village Hall and has the reputation for being safe.

Yet for the past few months it has been used and abused by the same group of teenagers who have vandalised St. Helen’s churchyard.

People are fed up with clearing up the beer cans, cigarette ends and broken glass. In addition, part of the fence has been deliberately torn away from the supporting post, leaving nails and screws exposed, causing a real danger to young children. A temporary repair has been made.

At the last Council meeting it was unanimously agreed that the play area needed some maintenance. Local children have long been asking for a see-saw. This was another item which was to be added to the play area. This was to be done before the school holidays.

Someone said to me today: “Is it worth it? It’ll just be another target to be destroyed.”

Someone else said: “All kids get out of hand now and again, but this lot seem to relish being cheeky and foul mouthed! Their language is disgusting, and their behaviour can be intimidating”

Feelings are running high in Skeffling about the behaviour of this group of teenagers who have chosen our village to get up to mischief.

All kids need their freedom to grow into good, law-abiding adults, and for this they need guidance from those who have already trod that path – in other words, the grown-ups of today.

The people who live in Skeffling love the village, so if you want them to respect and welcome you here, please show respect. If you can’t do that, please grow up in your own village, because you won’t be welcome here.