MORE than a thousand crimes have been reported at churches and religious buildings in Sussex in less than three years.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request to Sussex Police from the Countryside Alliance revealed churches are not only being targeted for lead theft, of which there were 33 recorded cases.

Last year St Saviour’s Church in Colgate, near Horsham, was one of three in Sussex to be targeted by metal thieves as they

looked to steal lead from their roofs.

But cases of general theft, arson and sexual offences have all been reported in religious buildings during the period between January 1, 2017, and September 18 this year.

A total of 1,148 crimes were reported in Sussex churches and churchyards – almost double the number reported in neighbouring Kent, which had 579 crimes in the same period.

The data shows an increase in all types of crime in churches in the county between 2017 and 2018.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, media relations manager at the Countryside Alliance, said: “These figures paint a bleak picture of criminal attacks on our churches and religious buildings in Sussex and across the country as a whole.

“As a society, irrespective of faith or none, we need to be much more vigilant when it comes to watching over churches and places of worship by reporting suspicious activity.

“It serves as a reminder of the importance of funding and pushing for visible policing, particularly in rural areas where churches are more remote.”

The Countryside Alliance, which campaigns on rural issues, has compiled

data from across the country into a report for its membership, after issuing FOI requests to police forces nationwide.

The total number of crimes that took place in churches or religious buildings in the UK was 20,168.

Figures show there were 160 cases of violence against a person in Sussex churches or churchyards, which is the third highest in the country, after London and West Yorkshire.

Speaking to Premier Christian radio about the national figures, which translate to a crime every 70 minutes, the Church of England’s director of churches and cathedrals Becky Clark said: “While these things are undoubtedly very damaging and harmful when they happen to individual communities, we’re still looking at the majority of churches being safe places that are open to their communities.

“We’re trying to work with the police on different initiatives to deal with some of the most widely presenting issues.”

Ms Clark said churches are places where people should be able to go in all states and feel safe, and she wants to make sure churches which have suffered crimes feel they can stay open.

She added: “This research includes churchyards, which are enormously important green spaces.

“In some communities, particularly in urban areas, they might be the only green and open space available to people.

“So it’s going to be a natural place for people to come to for all sorts of things, mostly good, but occasionally bad.”