Criminal damage to historic buildings on the rise

Neath Abbey has seen a spate of criminal damage incidents this year

Criminal damage to listed buildings is on the increase, the body which preserves and protects Welsh heritage has said.

Cadw said this year could see the highest ever number of reported crimes of damage and vandalism at some of Wales' ancient sites.

It is a criminal offence to damage or destroy a scheduled monument or use metal detectors on protected sites without consent.

Cadw said heritage crime was widely under-reported but rising, and has encouraged anyone who witnesses suspicious behaviour at heritage sites to report it.

Neath Abbey has seen a spate of incidents this year, including new signage damaged, grass torn up and used as a bike track, windows to the under croft smashed, and a Tudor exhibition vandalised.

Jon Berry from Cadw said there were "40 to 50 incidents a year" of heritage crime at their sites and "in the low hundreds" across historical environments in Wales.

"There's a cost to the public purse," said Mr Berry.

"At Neath Abbey it was mostly modern infrastructure that was damaged and the wonderful thing about these sites is they are authentic fragments we've inherited from the past, and once it's damaged or destroyed we've lost that so the community and all of our visitors lose out as that archaeological source is eroded."

Since the beginning of the year, there have been police reports of criminal damage at several Cadw sites.

In some cases, it has resulted in sites being partially closed to the public and planned conservation work being postponed to prioritise repairs.

Anti-social behaviour at Caerleon's Amphitheatre and Barracks has seen graffiti, the heat from barbecues damaging Roman brickwork and even a burnt-out motorbike left at the site.

Blaenavon Ironworks' Cast House was recently closed to the public after a visual display was vandalised and bricks thrown from the top of a tower.

"There are incidents of theft too at Blaenavon iron works," said Mr Berry.

"Lead from the roof was stolen, we replaced it, and it was stolen again.

"So, we now use a product which looks like lead but isn't and thankfully that has stayed on the roof."

Windows to the under croft of Neath Abbey were smashed, and a Tudor exhibition vandalised

Wales has one of the highest proportions of historic buildings in Europe - 30,100 buildings are listed.

There are more than 4,000 scheduled monuments which include archaeological sites of national importance including Roman remains, burial mounds, castles, and bridges, with 400 registered historic parks and four world heritage sites.

The consequences for deliberate damage to a scheduled monument range from fines to a prison sentence.

Graffiti painted on the medieval masonry of the undercroft at St Davids Bishop's Palace

What is heritage crime?

Heritage crime refers to any illegal activity that harms historical assets. This includes:

• Theft of historic metal such as lead from church roofs

• Deliberate damage including graffiti or vandalism

• Unauthorised works on scheduled monuments

• Illegal metal detecting also known as "nighthawking"

• Anti-social behaviour, including littering, out of hours access or climbing on walls

Rob Taylor says there needs to be education to prevent these crimes

Rob Taylor, Wales' wildlife and rural crime co-ordinator, says the crimes are sometimes down to ignorance.

"People are coming to sites which they might not realise are ancient sites like burial grounds which can just be a grassy mound," he said.

"Areas like Gwent now have a special constable who is an archaeologist which is a fantastic addition to their team and we have police cadets involved patrolling these sites and education is really important to the public and the police.

"Everyone is aware of the problem but we need to look at how we can prevent it from happening in the first place."

Bryn Celli Ddu passage tomb is one of the best known neolithic sites in Wales, but has seen graffiti and damage to the internal chamber

Bryn Celli Ddu passage tomb on Anglesey, is one of the best known neolithic sites in Wales, dating back 5,000 years.

It has recently seen graffiti and damage to the internal chamber stones.

More than 40 marks were painted inside the passage and tomb, including fingerprints, handprints, diamond shapes and circles, and large symbols on the internal lintels.

Ffion Reynolds, from Cadw, discovered the damage while planning an event.

"Every year we come to Bryn Celli Ddu to promote monuments for future generations of people to come and enjoy them, and while I was up here planning those events I went inside the chamber and discovered that it was covered in lots of paintings, more than maybe 40 or 50 marks in there, and it did feel like a bit of a bunker in there."

Dr Reynolds said she believes education is key to preventing future vandalism.

"So one of the things we did as part of the project was we got permission from Cadw and worked with some of the young volunteers and we cleaned it off safely, but it was really good to involve these young volunteers because some of them were actually individuals that had been in trouble for graffiti, so in a sense this is the message, it's trying to get young people to understand the importance.

"A lot of them found the experience to be quite a privilege, so hopefully they went away and told their friends to make sure not to do this to other monuments across Wales."

"Leave nothing but a footprint and take nothing but a photograph" says archaeologist Rhys Mwyn

In other instances, candle wax has damaged some of the internal stones, along with burnt incense sticks leaving thick soot which has blackened some stones beyond cleaning.

Rhys Mwyn, an archaeologist who conducts tours of Bryn Celli Ddu, said: "We all feel a connection with historic and prehistoric monuments and it's something hard to explain because it comes from the heart, so we do like to feel a connection with ancestors from the past.

"The real question is when does that connection turn into something else and we start to interfere or disrespect the monuments, or worse, add graffiti.

"I think it comes down to respect and having a connection that leaves nothing but a footprint and take nothing but a photograph is the key message.

"Leave it as it is, it's done well for 5,000 years, we do not need to add graffiti to them today."