A Perthshire church is counting the cost of vandalism with a series of incidents resulting in around £5,000 worth of damage.
Methven Church has been targeted in recent weeks, with the latest act of vandalism taking place between 6pm on Friday and 9am on Saturday when large rocks were used to smash windows.
The rocks were from the church graveyard.
The Rev Philip Patterson, minister of Methven and Logiealmond, said the vandalism has been prevalent for years.
”The church has suffered frequently over the past few years,” he said. ”I arrived here four years ago and previous to my arrival there had been a period of petty vandalism. That resulted in numerous panes of glass being broken each time and these panes have been replaced.
”With the last incident it seems that petty vandalism has developed into something else, as both the large windows on either side of the church have been comprehensively ‘put in’.”
He continued: ”Whoever did this, did it with a fair degree of purpose and maliciousness. Physically it will have taken some strength as the rocks were large and the windows are not at ground level.
”This was deliberate, calculated and designed to do as much damage as possible.”
The repair bill is estimated to be around £5,000.
Mr Patterson said that the church’s congregation feel frustrated at the frequency of the attacks.
”There is a significant financial burden in the upkeep of the building and this is only increased by such wanton viciousness,” he added.
”We are a little concerned that our young folk are being left to their own devices without the correct religious and moral guidance they will need for later life.”
Anyone with information should phone Tayside Police on 0300 111 2222.