Criminal Damage at Hope Baptist Chapel
Friday, 7 April 2017
Thanks to Gerard Liston for this report
Hope Baptist Chapel is two months away from reopening its doors to the community after major repairs, which include dealing with flood damage and serious problems with new plasterwork on the ceiling. Now, it appears that a group of local teenagers has chosen to add to the problems.
The group of half a dozen teenagers, some on small scooters, were seen (and heard) on Hope Street and Cheetham Street using air horn fire alarms that had been taken from inside the building. It appears that they had also broken into the chapel space and released several fire extinguishers.
This incident comes a month after a window of costly acid-etched glass had been broken on the side of the chapel adjacent to the garden area.
Not only is this the first time in recent memory that the church has been the subject of vandalism, but the chapel is currently secured as a building site and is filled with scaffolding - risking the safety of the individuals involved.
Police have been informed of the incidents and should be contacted if anyone saw anything suspicious.