Umbilo church hit by crime

UMBILO Methodist Church has been hard hit by criminals over the past three weeks.

According to church secretary, Caitlin Dalgleish, there have been four break-ins and one attempted break-in over this period.

“There was a woman on the premises who chased the men away by screaming, otherwise they would've gotten in again,” she said.

“In the first robbery, thieves stole office equipment and sound equipment to the value of R30 000, in the second incident they broke into our hall, the third time they broke into a garage and stole clothing and in the fourth robbery, they stole a computer screen. We are still waiting to be paid out to replace lost items, but this is a lengthy process,” she said.

She said three years ago all the copper at the church had been stolen.

Caitlin said more external lights had been installed at the church to light up the exterior at night and new burglar guards had been put in.

“We feed around 50 to 60 people five times a week at a soup kitchen, but we can't say it is one of these people, and we can't stop the kitchen, as where would these people go?

The homeless are increasing in numbers with the clean up of the CBD,” she said.

Caitlin said the church has had quotes for fencing which was very costly. She appealed to the community for any help to install fencing and a security system at the church.

“It is so expensive, but we need to improve security. If anyone can help, we'd really appreciate it,” she said.

Contact the church on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to noon on 031 205 4558.