Suspected Catapult Attacks Target Church in Sheerness
A church congregation on the Isle of Sheppey has been forced to move Sunday services to a local café after repeated suspected catapult attacks threatened the church's safety. As a result of safety concerns due to incidents starting in February 2026, the church has made plans to replace the damaged glass windows with a "bullet proof" alternative, and has had to board up windows to protect its congregants. The church minister believes such acts of vandalism are not isolated to Sheerness, but point to a wider problem in the UK.
According to a report from 24 July 2026, a church congregation on the Isle of Sheppey has been forced to move its Sunday services to a nearby café after repeated suspected catapult attacks threatened the safety of the church. The report says that ball bearings were fired through the ceiling skylights of the joint United Reformed and Methodist church in Sheerness. This caused glass to shatter onto chairs, carpets and the communion table.
Since February, the congregation has been subjected to vandalism from young people, according to the minister of the church. She speculated that the perpetrators may have been trying to "kill wildlife", but confirmed that they had been shooting ball bearings from catapults through the church's windows, leaving shards of glass scattered across the floor every day. For safety reasons, the congregation has been forced to relocate to the coffee shop, but the minister further commented that 'the congregation doesn't like it...it's not right.' Until more permanent safety measures are put in place, the report states that the windows will be boarded up to protect worshippers.
While the police are investigating, residents have been assisting by reporting suspicious activities. Vandalism targeting Christian churches is a nationwide issue, not just in Sheerness, according to the minister of the local congregation.
Source: bbc , kentonline
Symbolic Image: Wiki Commons
