Mindless vandals are being sought after a hate crime that saw a Collier Row church hall broken into and covered in graffiti – and human excrement.
Among the messages sprayed inside the hall at Ascension Church, Collier Row Road, were swear words, anti-God comments and the messages “1LOVE”, “God” and “Die”.
The yobs also appeared to leave tags, or signatures – “Slaper G MAN” and “BAD MAN Collier Row”.
Human excrement was found smeared on a door and “RIP DAD” was sprayed on the floor.
A caretaker discovered the daubings at 6.30am on Tuesday morning and called police, who are treating the vandalism as a hate crime because of the anti-God comments.
Rebecca Snell, spokeswoman for the church, called it wanton vandalism.
“It’s really vile stuff with local tags,” she said. “Police are calling it a hate crime but to be honest I don’t think they are intelligent enough to realise what they’ve done.
“I don’t think it’s targeted, it’s probably just stupid kids but they’ve dropped themselves in it writing that.”
The hall is used for social functions and an over 50s and two toddler groups were forced to cancel their meets yesterday while the graffiti was removed.
“For some of the older members of the over 50s group that was the only time they left the house all week,” explained Rebecca. “This is not just an attack on the church, it’s an attack on the community. We have birthdays there, it is the home of Collier Row Foodbank and Weightwatchers and other social groups.
“Our sincere thanks goes to S&S cleaning who responded so well working into the night to restore the hall for the next day.”
Do you recognise the names “Slaper G MAN” or “BAD MAN Collier Row” or any of the graffiti?
If you have any information that could assist police call Havering CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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