By Liz Fowler

VANDALS WHO urinated and defecated in a Mearns church were yesterday branded mentally sick.

The abuse of St Laurence’s Episcopal Church in Laurencekirk and the desecration of a number of holy relics occurred during the day on Friday.

Still cleaning up yesterday, rector the Rev Michael Turner described the mess as “sickening and repulsive.”

He has been 19 years in the burgh. Though the church, which sits just off the High Street, had been a target for vandals before, he said, the wanton acts of destruction this time were the worst he had known.

He was utterly shocked to discover the damage when he entered the church around 7.45 pm for evening prayer. He found various items of church furnishings and service books had been moved or thrown.

At first he feared items had been stolen, but most were eventually recovered in various places around the building.

Mr Turner said, “The culprits had been long enough in the church to smoke cigarettes and stub them out on the carpet.

“Most distressing was the discovery that someone had defecated and urinated in the building and the mess had been trodden into the carpeting.

“There was no evidence that the damage had an anti-Christian or anti-religious motive. The actions were just sickening and repulsive.

“The church is open during the day for people to come in and say their prayers or sit in quiet reflection. Quite a number of people are grateful to be able to do this.

“The Christian faith speaks of God who is open to all and I believe it is highly desirable that church buildings should express this by being open and available to anyone.

“But it does depend on trust and assumes that people will not abuse that trust.”

Until five or six years ago St Laurence’s Church had not suffered any acts of vandalism, he said. More recently there had been occasional acts of anti-social behaviour, with people found using the churchyard as a drinking den.

He said, “We have also found people using the porch as a shelter for smoking drugs, mostly marijuana, and we’ve had people picking out bits of the masonry. Nothing, however, has previously occurred as vile as this. I simply cannot comprehend the mentality of somebody who would behave so disgustingly.”

Chairman of Mearns Community Council Chris Rushbridge said, “This is quite despicable but consistent with other things happening in The Mearns area just now.”

Only recently, in the graveyard in his own village of Marykirk, more than a dozen tombstones were deliberately toppled. Mr Rushbridge went on. “This kind of vandalism in areas that were once sacrosanct seems to be rampant now.

“We would like to get this kind of thing completely stamped out, but I am afraid unless there is a bit more effort from everybody concerned it is just going to keep on happening.”

The vandalism had cast a cloud over the Laurencekirk gala, said Hilda Kerr, community council member and a local resident. “The gala was on Friday. Maybe these morons were visitors. Whatever the case, it is just abhorrent to think they can go into an open church and do this.

“There is no respect nowadays for anything or anybody, and there doesn’t seem to be any effective deterrent. I have yet to see any good coming from community service.”

Constable Brian Hancock, who is investigating the incident, said, “This appears to be a very callous and premeditated act and should not and cannot be tolerated in any village.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 0845 600 5700 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.