Church burgled in Hemel Hempstead

Police investigating a break in at a church in Hemel Hempstead have appealed for witnesses and information from the public. The burglary occurred at St John’s Church, in St John’s Road, sometime between 9.45pm on Thursday 30^th May and 7.40am on Friday 31^stMay. Offenders have made at least one unsuccessful attempt to break in before forcing entry into the hall area of the church through a window. They have then broken through various locked doors and windows inside the building before making an untidy search of the vestry area. The offenders have taken a relatively small amount of cash and change from a money box and various charity collection boxes which they have smashed open. They have then left the building via a fire exit before making off. PC Paul Purvis, who is investigating, said: “It is likely that it took some time for the offenders to break into the property and in doing so probably created quite a lot of noise. I believe someone must have seen or heard something during the night. I would appeal to anyone who knows anything about this crime to contact me as soon as possible.” Anyone with information about the incident should contact police on the non-emergency number 101 quoting crime reference D1/13/3026. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers, the independent charity, anonymously on 0800 555 111.