Historic church attacked three times in three days as police condemn 'deeply upsetting behaviour'
A church in Wigan has been attacked three times in as many days, leaving historic windows smashed and graves desecrated.
The latest assault on the St John the Evangelist Church in Abram took place between 1am and 3am on Tuesday, according to Greater Manchester Police.
A total of six graves had been targeted during the incidents, with the stained glass windows - built in 1838 - damaged in two of the attacks.
The church said the recent acts of vandalism had left them "heartbroken".
In a Facebook post, which shared images of the damage, the place of worship wrote: "I went to church this morning to find two panes of one of our beautiful glass windows have been vandalised.
"Windows which were relocated from the original church and have a fine metal mesh covering, it will cost thousands to repair."
They continued: "People say they want a church in Abram and yet this occurs. We are just meeting all of our bills and let’s not get it wrong, we have to pay our way.
"This will obviously make this year more difficult. Trying to be positive - but if our church closes - what will happen to worship, to the churchyard, to the craft club, to the Wednesday breakfasts and everything else we try."
The church urged anyone with information about the incidents to contact the police.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and deeply upsetting to our local community.
"We do have CCTV footage of the suspected offenders, and officers will be following up all lines of enquiry.
"We would ask anyone with information to please come forward."
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The number of attacks against Christian institutions have risen in recent years.
An investigation carried out by the Countryside Alliance in April found that nearly 4,000 crimes were committed on church property in 2025.
According to figures obtained through Freedom of Information requests, there were 3,637 records of theft, burglary, criminal damage, vandalism and assault between January 1 and December 31 last year.
This figure equates to rough 10 crimes being committed on church property in Britain every day.
London was the worst-hit area of the country with 531 offences recorded, followed by West Yorkshire with 445.
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said: "Across the country, churches and places of worship continue to suffer, as vandals, thieves and other criminals treat them as easy targets.
"We cannot allow this to continue. Churches and places of worship are focal points for local communities, particularly in rural towns and villages where they play a crucial role in combatting isolation.
"It is vital that the public keep a watchful eye and report any issues to the police."
Mr Metcalf-Fisher also called on Labour to increase funding for Christian hubs to " keep these hugely important community assets open and in use".
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