SUSSEX has experienced the highest number of crimes in religious buildings in any county outside London.

Data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request to Sussex Police found almost 400 crimes were committed in churches and religious buildings, churchyards, cemeteries and crematoriums between July last year and September 1.

Of the 394 crimes, 82 were violent, including 25 sexual offences.

There were 114 cases of criminal damage, including arson, and 58 burglaries.

The figures were provided by the Countryside Alliance as part of a call to protect rural churches and increase funding for security at places of worship.

Sarah Lee of the Countryside Alliance said: “Taking into account that during some of this year, the country was in lockdown, it is chilling to learn criminals have taken advantage of this awful pandemic and continued to target churches.

“Of course people need to have open access to our religious sanctuaries, but the warnings from these latest figures must be heeded if we are to seriously protect our places of worship.

“We need to ramp up access to a greater amount of funding from the protective security scheme and ensure the scheme remains available going forward.

“The high figures alongside the specific crime data returned from Sussex are incredibly shocking. We would urge members of the public to remain vigilant.”