A historic building which has been damaged by HGVs over a dozen times in a decade is appealing for help.
St Tudor's church in Mynyddislwyn, Caerphilly borough, has seen numerous lorries stuck on its boundary wall causing damage worth over £20,000 in repairs.
In a more serious incident in 2018, a car was written off when a lorry became stuck and rolled into the vehicle.
After paint was used to vandalise the lychgate of the graveyard in summer 2021, church warden Elizabeth Tomlin said "enough was enough". The church is now raising money for CCTV to be installed in the grounds to catch and deter those causing damage.
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Elizabeth said it was upsetting for the community of Mynyddislwyn, as well as churchgoers, to see a key aspect of their local heritage damaged time and time again. She said the Grade II listed site can be traced back thousands of years.
"The site has been there for 2500 years," she said. "There has always been a wall surrounding the site which is why the wall is so important and part of the heritage. There has to be a dry stone wall.
"That area served the local tribe of Celts. When the Romans came, they came to this area and that is when Christianity began. It became a place of pilgrimage. There are Yew Trees in the old graveyard and we know one of them dates back 2000 years. The previous building was burnt down in the 1800s. The tower part is the oldest part and that goes back to the 13th century and that's still there.
"I think this is why it's so upsetting. This church is part of everyone's heritage. When you go in there, you have this welcoming presence that people have been there for centuries."
Elizabeth explained that there is an old graveyard on the side of the church, while a newer graveyard sits on the opposite side of the road. She said the HGVs are driving into the historic wall of the old graveyard, which dates back at least 500 years.
She said it's happening despite signs warning large vehicles to stay away from the narrow road. The incidents often happen in the dark and some have put it down to sat-navs taking drivers a way suitable for smaller vehicles.
She said: "HGVs are not supposed to be coming down anyway because it's marked on the dual carriageway at the bottom. On the right angle bend is the old graveyard - we're on the inside corner - there's no way they can get around it and there's another sharp bend after it.
"It's happened so many times, even since I took over as church warden four years ago. In that time it's happened four or five times. It would happen a lot more if it wasn't for the residents and farmers who live here. If they see a HGV they are out trying to stop it. The farmers also make sure to tell their suppliers what size vehicle can safely get around here."
Elizabeth set up a GoFundMe page to try and raise money to get CCTV as a way to help report incidents to the police and insurers as well as to try and deter lorry drivers from taking the route. You can donate to the page here.
She said: "Obviously money is a problem because how much we have depends on what the congregation gives. If we don't know who has done it, we can't claim it back off them personally. The police and insurers ask every time if we have CCTV to take matters further. It's expensive to install but we know it will help in the long run. There are cheaper ones but we need a good quality one because it needs to be very clear - the police said they have to be able to clearly identify the faces and number plates."
Elizabeth said having the CCTV there would take a lot of stress away from those involved with the church as well as locals, who enjoy visiting the picturesque area.
"For a start for all the residents and farmers it would give them peace of mind," she said. "They put their lives at risk trying to stop HGVs coming down the road. Also in terms of the community, we've had that road completely blocked with police and fire engines and everything because of the issue with HGVs. For the church it would be one less worry because if we had good CCTV and can identify people clearly. We think word would get around between HGV drivers to put them off coming up this way. We hope it would act as a deterrent."
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