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Church 'heartbroken' after theft on Easter Sunday

Shivani Chaudhariand
Robyn Wallis,Essex
Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi A group of people standing in front of a fence and a white van. They are wearing winter coats and not all of them are looking at the camera.Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi
The Salvation Chapel International church in Laindon had a number of tools stolen from its site on Easter Sunday

A congregation said they had been left "heartbroken" after their building was broken into on Easter Sunday, adding to the £50,000 of damage already caused to the site in the past year.

The leader of the Salvation Chapel International church in Laindon, Essex - Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi - said tools were stolen from the site during the early hours.

He said it was "very demoralising" after previous break-ins in July and November saw the church vandalised and set on fire.

Essex Police have urged with anyone with information or footage from the latest incident, which happened shortly after 01:00 BST, to come forward.

Berkoh-Gyamfi said: "It's very demoralising, knowing that we are just pursuing a noble cause in serving our local community - getting to know each other.

"Instead of sharing love, it's like they [the burglars] want to sow a seed of discontent and resentment."

Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi Three men standing in front of the church building, they are all wearing gloves and hoodies. There is a white car on the side and orange and white cones. The men look upset. Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi
Members of the church said the building had been left with £50,000 worth of damage

During a previous break-in someone spray painted racist language all over the church wall, he said.

"We are having to spend money on doing the building... we haven't got such money lying anywhere."

Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi A 'Caution: Wet floor' sign among paper all over the floor and other rubbish. Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi
Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi said the church had been damaged during the break-in

Following an Freedom of Information request, the charity Countryside Alliance revealed that in 2025 nearly 4,000 crimes were committed on church property, as well as other religious premises.

Martin Stuchfield, the chairman of Friends of Essex Churches Trust, said: "It's [theft] on an epidemic scale, because there isn't the respect for the church building that there once was."

While speaking to BBC Essex presenter Ben Fryer, Stuchfield said he thought the thefts were "despicable".

"Churches lie at the heart of communities - they are valued by people.

"I'm afraid to say that they are soft targets."

Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi Planks of wood and discarded rugs placed near a green space. There is a person partially in view to the right of the image. Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi
Berkoh-Gyamfi said the church was broken into in July and then again November, before the most recent incident

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, the director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said the most common thefts were lead, but also metal collection tins and ornaments.

"Once a lot of the artefacts are stolen, you just don't get them back," he said.

Deputy chief constable Rachel Nolan, National Police Chiefs' Council lead for heritage crime, said: "Crimes impacting churches are one of the most common reports impacting our heritage."

She encouraged people to report suspicious activity around churches or around unusual metal or stone that may have come from a church or heritage site.

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