POLICE investigating an incident of criminal damage at St Mary’s RC Church, Warrington, have released a CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to.
At around 2.47pm on Thursday June 5, an unknown man entered the church on Buttermarket Street and made his way down the main aisle toward the tabernacle area at the top of the building.
The man began purposely moving items placed here and blowing out lit candles placed on altars, before entering the back area of the church that is not accessible to the public. While doing this, the man is believed to have purposely damaged a number of documents and items belonging to the church.
When challenged by a parishioner, the man ignored them and promptly left the building.
As part of their investigation, officers have released an image of a man, they believe, holds vital information in relation to this incident.
PC Sian Doyle said: “Deliberately damaging someone else’s property is a very selfish crime, but entering a place of worship, a hub where a community is meant to come together without fear, and purposely causing a disruption and damaging their belongings is something that I am truly appalled to see.
“We are currently doing all we can to identify the individual responsible for this incident and, as part of our enquiries, we have now released an image of a man we would like to speak to.
“Investigating officers believe this man holds vital information in relation to the incident that occurred here, so anyone who knows who this man is, is asked to contact Cheshire Police.
“I would also like to appeal directly to the man pictured to please contact us.”
Anyone with any information regarding the incident is asked to contact Cheshire Police via the website or by calling 101, quoting IML-2103969.
