Chapel-goers have been left appalled after a number of ancient stones dating back more than 330 years were stolen from a religious site in Swansea.
The incident is believed to have happened at some point late on Saturday or early on Sunday morning, outside Gellionnen Chapel, some five miles west of Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley. Around 10 of the flagstones outside the building have been taken, the first time this has ever happened. They are 330 years old and formed part of the original floor inside the building.
When the chapel was rebuilt in the 19th century, the floor was taken up to be replaced, with the ancient stones moved outside to form a path leading to the chapel door. You can keep up to date with the latest Swansea news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
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“Everything was OK on Saturday, there was a local dog walk that took place and they were still in place then,” said Gellionnen Chapel secretary, Sandra Beynon. “But when I got there at 9.30am the following morning, this is what I found.
"Those stones have been in the same place outside the chapel since the 1800s. We have called the police and they’ve said they are going to increase patrols in the area as much as they can. We want to spread the word about what’s happened to try and make these stones ‘too hot to handle’, in the hope that someone will know something.
"Thankfully, a local builder is going to come on the weekend and put some quarry stones down in their place because it’s dangerous as it is at the moment, so people have been very kind. But to think - who would do something like this? To steal anything is bad enough but to steal from a chapel?”
South Wales Police has been asked to comment.
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