Yobs smash windscreen in confrontation over church service disruption

A CAR window was smashed after youths interrupted a thanksgiving service by banging on church windows.

The culprit threw the stone after the group was challenged for disturbing the service at the town’s St Mary Magdalene parish church last Thursday afternoon.

Among the congregation paying their respects was retired police officer Andy Varney (72), who was also helping the undertakers for which he works part-time.

Mr Varney said: “People were finishing the last hymn when this great banging on the window could be heard.

“I went outside expecting to find a few 12 or 13-year-olds but when I got out there was a group of people much older than that of 15, 16 or 17-year-olds.

“I said to them: ‘There’s an important occasion in the church would you mind moving away’ and I was expecting them to say sorry and ‘Oh yes okay’.

“But they did not do that,” Mr Varney continued. “Immediately they were abusive and also mildly threatening towards me. They did not move, they just stayed where they were and carried on with the language.”

Another person then came outside and took pictures of some of the group.

“Within seconds one of the group picked up a stone and threw it into the crowded car park,” Mr Varney added.

“There was a crash as it went straight into someone’s rear windscreen.”

The youths then left the scene.

Mr Varney said a third person had been in the car park at the time and identified who threw the stone at the vehicle which belonged to a woman from Lyme Regis attending the service.

He phoned the police and reported what had happened but officers did not attend.

As a former policeman of 30 years – including 10 years as a community officer in the New Milton area – Mr Varney said while he understood how the force used resources it was “frustrating” for victims of crime that the thorough investigation of all incidents was not possible.

He said the best way of counter-acting the problems was to have multi-agency involvement, which included schools and local health and enforcement services.

“There is little point in harking back to the old days when such an incident would, with greater resources, have fairly easily been detected and the offender dealt with appropriately for their age,” Mr Varney explained.

“Something that would improve relations between police and the public would be a greater willingness to update the aggrieved person/business on the state of investigations.”

A Hampshire Police spokesperson said it had received a report concerning criminal damage. Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting crime reference number 44190222019.