Leeds Minster vandalism: Walls of city centre church spray painted by thugs for second time in six months

Leeds Minster has been vandalised for the second time in just six months.

Spray paint appeared on the right-hand side of the church overnight, with huge green and purple lettering defacing both the sandstone walls and the floor outside.

Ian Howell, caretaker for Leeds Minster, saw the paint this morning when he arrived at work. He said: “The last time [it was vandalised] was on the left side of the wall near the doorway about six months ago. LeedsBID came and did a good job cleaning it but they can’t get it all off because of the sandstone. This time it’s even worse because it’s even gone all over the floor, it’s crazy.”

The Minster, which stands on the site of the oldest church in the city, has been subjected to numerous attempts of vandalism over the past few months, leading to permanent damage to the church's walls.

“We’re being inundated here at the moment,” Ian went on to say.

"We’ve been in touch with the local police, they’ve done a very good job to try and get rid of [the vandals] but it’s just slowly raising its head again. It’s getting really bad at this moment in time.”

Not-for-profit community organisation LeedsBID arrived at the church shortly after 10am this morning (19 October) to begin removing the graffiti from the walls.