Prayers for church paint vandals

The congregation of a Salvation Army church in Northumberland say they are praying for vandals who defaced the front of the building with graffiti.

The site, in Second Avenue, Ashington, has been daubed with spray paint in several attacks.

A Salvation Army spokeswoman said the cost of cleaning the graffiti would be "a considerable sum".

Police are investigating, but Captain Heather Alston appealed to those responsible to consider their actions.

She said: "As a church we have been praying for the people who have been defacing our building, which belongs to the community, as it makes the area look untidy.

"I do not think the people who did this realise we are a church.

"The problem is that it costs such a lot of money to get the council to remove it - money which we could spend on our work in the community."