A DALE vicar has made a passionate plea for the motorist who damaged a stone wall at a church car park to come forward, saying “confession is good for the soul”.
Revd Canon Alec Harding, vicar of St Mary’s Parish Church, in Barnard Castle, took photographs of the damage that happened of the evening of Sunday, August 25.
He said: “Confession is good for the soul. But in its absence does anyone have any information about who managed to take another chunk out of the car park entrance wall.
“We don’t have a magic money pot to keep repairing damage – the fourth time bits of the car park have been hit by cars in 12 months.”
He explained the cost of repairing the wall has tended to fall below the £500 excess on the church’s insurance and so the money had to be found from other funds.
He added: “The wall has moved quite a bit and will need to be rebuilt.
“We’ve no idea who did it, but there does appear to be traces of red paint on the stone work.”
Mr Harding said CCTV cameras at the Black Horse, in Newgate, opposite the car park may have caught something, but he had not yet had the opportunity to speak with the landlord.
He hopes the culprit will step forward to save the church having to spend more money repairing the wall. Anyone with any information can call 01833 637018.
