A NEW £300,000 church was unveiled in Barnsley back in the summer of 1995 and it boasted an array of security and anti-burglary defences - some of them high-tech for the time.
But within weeks it had started to come under attack from the vandals and by October that year there were calls for urgent action to deal with the problems.
St Andrew’s Church on Gerald Road had a distinctive design with a steep pitched roof, and featured a battery of security features including an eight-foot security fence, tough steel fence and a sting of anti-burglary and anti vandalism devices,
But vandals overcame them all by simply throwing bricks at the roof causing considerable damage.
By October 1995 the vicar Rev Steve Donald was calling on Barnsley Council to restore the adjoining field back into its former use as residents’ gardens to deter the gathering youths.
He said: “On the positive side, we have had no graffiti or broken windows since the church opened this summer. But one thing we have to sort out with the council is an adjoining field where children congregate to throw stones.
“One of the problems is with the brick-built dustbin bunkers of nearby residents. Youngsters take them to bits and throw the bricks at the roof, seeing if they can break the highest tile.
“We are having talks with the council, and it would be great if it could turn the field back into gardens, because we cannot stand this sort of damage.”
The church, officially consecrated by the Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Rev David Lunn only that same week, in front of a congregation of 200, first hit the headlines two months previously.
It was revealed that the church had drafted in an architect previously responsible for a bazooka-proof bullion bank vault.
The church had been partly funded by a £90,000 donation from Christ Church, Fulwood, Sheffield, and £25,000 from Barnsley Council to equip the kitchen for a planned luncheon club.
