Bohemia Village Voice

The beloved minibus stolen

A shocked and upset Father Alex Brown of St Peter’s church has reported the theft of their minibus. What’s worse is that it appears it has been so badly damaged that it will be written off by the insurance company, leaving the church without transport. The 14-year old Leyland Daf 17-seater blue-green minibus was ‘in mint condition’ according to David, who donated the vehicle to the church. ‘The steering-wheel has been pulled off, the driver’s seat has disappeared and some of the electrics have been ripped out’, he said. Father Brown said ‘It was stolen late Friday 11July or early Sat 12 July from outside the vicarage in Blomfield Road. The police discovered it a few hours later, seriously damaged; they have impounded it for forensic tests. This is a huge shock and blow to the church. The minibus was crucial to pick up elderly people and young people living outside the Bohemia area’. He went on ‘We’re all in a state of shock and unbelief how such a needed vehicle doing such good work could be targeted and damaged’. 

The Voice has also been alerted that flytipping has recently become a serious problem at the church. Lorraine Watkins, churchwarden at St Peter’s, says  ‘We’re doing our best to improve the look of the grounds. The lawns are mowed every fortnight and a company clears the gardens. This is not a quick or cheap job and it will take time to show improvements. The fact that some people think our church grounds are a place to dump rubbish astonishes me. We are a large church but sadly only a small (but growing!) congegration, and we can’t keep on top of things. The church and its grounds beong to all of us. It would be nice to receive some help from the community’.

Black bags of rubbish strewn over the grounds at St Peters less than a week after the grounds had been cleared.