By Gavin Mackintosh-
Police have released CCTV footage which shows the burred faces of yobs smashing historic windows at a Norfolk church.
Officers have launched an investigation after the criminal damage caused at Pulham St Mary Church, captured on camera.
CCTV ironically blurred the faces of the offending louts after they broke four panes of glass in the leaded porch windows of the church on The Street in the south Norfolk village at some point between Tuesday, February 22 and Thursday, February 24.
The decision to protect the identity of the yobs is believed to stem from the potential young ages of the teens, as police have their full faces on camera, but don’t know who they are. Their expectation for members of the public to identify them based on the footage is laughable, but cops are relying on the possibility the tear away teens may have bragged about their awful behaviour to their friends- friends unlikely to turn them over to cops.
Footage from a camera in the church vestibule depicts a group of five young people, including three boys and two girls who were present at the scene during the anti social behaviour. One of the youths appears to punch the area of leaded windows where the damage occurred.
The footage was released by Norfolk police and shared on social media, leaving the important question of why the faces of the culprits have been blurred. The crime is indicative of delinquent behaviour from school drop outs, most likely fuelled by alcohol
Police have so far made no arrests but are appealing for witnesses or anyone who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity in the area in the relevant period to get in touch.
Clayton Hudson, district councillor for the Pulhams, and who manages the CCTV system at the church, said the damage had been the latest in a spate of vandalism in the village.
He said: “Over the last month we have seen damage occurring.
Mr Hudson said: “I appreciate the police need to investigate and deal with it, but I just feel if the community doesn’t call it out it will carry on occurring
“From my point of view it’s not necessarily seeing anyone charged, it is more about getting these young people to acknowledge that they’ve done wrong.
“These young people obviously live in the local community but they are damaging a community asset which is hundreds of years old.”