Christmas in Yorkshire: Anger for villagers after nativity scene at church wrecked by vandals

Residents of a quaint Yorkshire village have said they are 'angry and heartbroken' after their Nativity scene was vandalised.

The scene was put outside in the church yard at St John's in Minskip, near Boroughbridge, because of ongoing Covid-19 concerns.

It was created ahead of a carol service which was held this week.

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But at around 5am on Tuesday (December 21), a nearby couple heard a noise. When they woke up, the Nativity had been destroyed.

Villagers are angry and heartbrokenVillagers are angry and heartbroken
Villagers are angry and heartbroken

Churchwarden Robert Beaumont said: "A central part of that was this lovely Nativity scene, which three or four of the church council had put up by themselves.

"“The lovely couple, Jason and Helen, who live next door to the church, heard a noise at about 5am.

“They’re not sure if that was the vandals destroying the Nativity scene but when they looked out of their windows at about 7am, all the wise men, the crib, everything, was scattered all around the churchyard.

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A nativity scene at a church in a Yorkshire village has been vandalisedA nativity scene at a church in a Yorkshire village has been vandalised
A nativity scene at a church in a Yorkshire village has been vandalised
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“To have it just destroyed in this wanton and mindless manner was heartbreaking. And we’ve all been thinking, why would anybody want to do that?”

The incident was reported to North Yorkshire Police.

Mr Beaumont said the scene has now been put back together with "a lot of love and care" by the locals.

"Although the vandals kicked parts of the scene all over the church or they didn’t break them in two," he said.

“So with a lot of love and care, three members of our church committee worked from about half past eight this morning and put the whole scene back together again.

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“And so, as one of our church council members said, love will always triumph over hate and good over evil. And that’s one of the messages of Christmas, so that was rather appropriate.

“But that doesn’t quite extinguish my anger as churchwarden that people should find it appropriate to desecrate our churchyard.”

It caps a tricky few weeks for the church and the wider community, after a drunken motorist crashed into a wall at the church six weeks ago, causing "an awful lot of damage".

But Mr Beaumont said the spirit of Christmas is strong in the community, and an outdoor service will be held on the big day with the Nativity scene "firmly in the foreground".