A vandal-hit Harold Hill church is appealing to the police to help them in their fight against the gangs of teenagers who cause hundreds of pounds of damage nearly every weekend.

The cry comes from the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Petersfield Avenue which is being repeatedly hit by teenagers.

According to church leaders the attacks are causing not only a great deal of damage, but also a lot of heartache to everyone with links to the church.

A spokesman this week called for Havering Police to increase its patrols in the area in a bid to warn off the trouble makers believing higher profile police presence would scare them away.

The appeal comes at a time when Angela Watkinson MP is urging businesses in Harold and throughout the borough to support a petition demanding more police officers in Havering.

A spokesman for the church, who did not want to be named, said: "This has been an on going problem for the last few months and it is now almost a weekly event.

"We find windows smashed, guttering ripped down, graffiti, we even had one of our stained glass windows broken."

A police spokesman said the possibility of increasing patrols would be looked into and also said that they would be working with the church to discuss any possible security measures they can take to tackle the problem.

Meanwhile Mrs Watkinson is asking for local businesses to take copies of a petition calling for more police in the borough and get as many of their customers and clients to sign it as possible.

Copies of the petition are available by calling 01708 443321.

Published Tuesday August 13, 2002

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