A car parked at Slavin Church of Ireland car park was broken into last Sunday.
HEARTLESS thieves are once again targeting cars parked outside local churches. After a spate of attacks last year at churches from Killesher to Trillick it seems criminals are once again turning their attention to church carparks.
One local woman has spoke of her horror at finding her new car parked outside a church near Belleek had been broken into, while police are also warning that cars parked at the Castle Caldwell carpark in the area have also been broken into.
Audrey Ovens was attending a service at Slavin Church of Ireland church, which serves the Belleek and Garrison area, had her car broken into while she was inside the church.
“We were at church last Sunday and my husband went out to move the car and when he went out, he saw that the passenger window had been smashed in. There was glass everywhere, but thankfully nothing had been stolen as we did not have anything in the car.
“It is a brand new car, and we only got it a couple of weeks ago. It is very disheartening and brought a lot of stress,” she added.
“It has made us all very wary now when we are parking to go to church. We will have to look about getting CCTV, or getting someone to stand outside on patrol while the service is going on. The car park is at the roadside and we are surprised at people having the cheek to do this.”
In the same area, thefts from cars at Castle Caldwell have become more prevalent in recent times as those who visit the popular tourist attraction and forest walk have fallen victim to crime. The incidents have become a major concern locally.
Local councillor John Feely has condemned the thefts, and urged users to be vigilant and avoid leaving valuable items in their cars.
“Local people who use the scenic trails at Castle Caldwell for walking and running are now having to be more security conscious. This issue has been raised a number of times on the council. I would hope that, with the forest service and the police working together along with other agencies, this would be properly dealt with. In the meantime, I would call on people visiting Castle Caldwell not to leave anything of value in their cars.”
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