Church volunteers have expressed their frustration over “mindless” vandalism to its toilet facilities.
For months, St Margaret’s Church in Clenchwarton has been dealing with the continuous destruction of its portaloo, which is its only means of bathroom access.
Wardens are now trying to identify the culprits to put an end to what they describe as a “nightmare”.
The incidents started a couple of months ago when the facilities were found tipped over onto the ground.
Believed to be a one-off event, members of the church did not think much of it, until the past four weeks which has seen the vandalism continue on four separate occasions.
The portaloo is often found not only pushed on its side but with its toilet rolls stolen and thrown around the churchyards.
Chemicals are left spilt into the soil and covering the walls inside - meaning it has to be serviced by the hirers and thoroughly cleaned.
“It’s just so mindless, it’s almost impossible to describe how stupid it is,” said volunteer warden Andrew Taylor.
At one point, the toilet was left so badly damaged that it needed to be replaced entirely.
St Margaret’s is a medieval building which does not have its own facilities inside and Andrew says that building some would cost tens of thousands of pounds - which the church does not have.
This is why, in December 2022, it was decided that the church would pay to hire the portable toilet, providing a 24/7 facility for the entire village.
“We believe that our church is a community building and we very much want to do what we can for the community,” Andrew added.
St Margaret’s will now have to resort to using a concrete slab to prevent it from being tipped over again, but there are fears that if it keeps happening the portaloo will have to be removed.
“I want to say to the ones doing it, get a life and do something constructive rather than destructive for your own village - that is the message.”