Church vandalised for SIXTH time over Easter weekend as pastor confesses his heart ‘aches’

Alice Tomlinson
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:33:49 +0000

A church in Essex has been vandalised for the sixth time in less than a year with its pastor confessing his heart “aches”.

This is the sixth attack on the Salvation Chapel International in Laindon since July last year, leaving behind £50,000 of damages.

The church located in a village west of Basildon, was attacked again over the Easter weekend, with this latest crime incurring another £1,000 in costs for the already desperate pastor.

Clearly at the end of his tether, Daniel Berkoh-Gyamfi, leader of Salvation Chapel International told GB News the ordeal “aches [his] heart” and that he had been crying over the crimes “as if I’d lost a relative”.

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The pastor has already endured five attacks on the church he purchased in 2025, including a fire, when he was alerted of movement in the early hours of Easter Sunday by his security camera.

On Sunday night he alerted the police, who, despite turning up more promptly than previous occasions, did not take it “seriously”.

Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi said: “The police did turn up on time, but they took no forensics, saying it is a commercial premises, so there’s nothing they can do.

“They did ask for CCTV footage, but I would be so grateful if the police took it seriously.”

They found that the perpetrators had broken through already boarded up windows, disabled the security cameras and internet, and stole tools worth over £1,000, which were being stored inside the building.

The pastor said there was a still-lit cigarette on the ground, which the police said they could not run tests on.

The pastor has his suspicions on who is orchestrating the attacks against his church - whilst it appears to be teenagers who are carrying out the vandalism - he believes it is the developers who were in competition with him to purchase the land that are behind the assaults on the building.

When asked whether he feels like he is being followed, Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi said: “I know they watch us - they’re monitoring us.

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“It is not great, it is not great at all.”

He shared that CCTV footage shows people in hooded tracksuits walking through the church’s grounds often, late at night.

The concerned clergyman worries for the future also, when the church is up and running, he wonders whether the attacks will continue.

He said: “Imagine you are in church, you have your eyes closed and then, you’re attacked.”

The pastor had originally rented the building from 2018 for fellowshipping, so was well acquainted with the property when he put an offer in to purchase it in July 2025.

Before that point, the church had never experienced any vandalism of any kind, but once an offer was placed on the property, the situation changed completely.

The first vandalism attack came shortly after Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi put an offer in on the church.

In a previous interview with GB News, the pastor explained that by the time contracts were exchanged, the vandals had set the church alight, requiring four Essex Fire Brigade engines to bring the blaze under control.

The interior was left in ruins, sanitary facilities including the disabled and women's toilets had been completely destroyed, while the church hall and piano were among the many items reduced to rubble.

Anti-Christian graffiti was also daubed across the walls, with the words "fish" and "fisherman den" referencing the ichthys, the Christian fish symbol associated with Jesus Christ.

Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi’s case is not isolated, as nearly 4,000 crimes were committed in churches and places of worship last year - equating to more than 10 attacks a day.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, who conducted the study, 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.”

As a result of assaults, The Salvation Chapel International has been destroyed so much that renovations and repairs would cost roughly £50,000.

GB News reported on the story at the end of March, where the church’s GoFundMe page was at around £2,600.

Now, it is currently at almost £7,500, to which Mr Berkoh-Gyamfi described as “great”.

However, there is a long way to go for the church to reach its five-figure target, with the pastor now considering selling his car to fund the renovations.

Nearing the end of his tether, he told the People’s Channel: “We are nowhere near the figures we need."