Church left to rot in Cwmcarn, Caerphilly

St John’s Church on Park Street closed its doors seven years ago and has been up for sale for six years.

In its heyday the church provided a central hub for marriages, baptisms and funerals.

The overgrown church (Image: Newsquest)

The overgrown church

Jane Laurence, who lives next door to the church, said: “It is heart breaking – the church is very important to the village.

“I’ve put an offer in to buy the building, but no one has got back to me.

“I said to the council let me buy the building and put it back out to the community.

“The doors and gates aren’t locked so anyone can walk in, something bad could happen.

“They have to leave access to the church to access the gravestones, but it is dangerous for the kids to go in playing around because the debris on the roof is falling and is loose.”

Ms Laurence believes the church would be perfect base to hold youth events.

The vines have grown over the lead glass and in places have broken it.

To stop the weeds growing over into her property Ms Laurence has been forced to build a wall.

The wall has been built to combat the ever growing weeds (Image: Newsquest)

The wall has been built to combat the ever growing weeds

Ms Laurence said: “It’s a stone building – my kitchen is glass; I’ve had boulders coming off the side and hitting the roof.

“I’m fed up with putting my conservatory right because of the boulders – they’re not paying me for the damage that it is causing.

“I take pride in my property and invested money yet a building like that is crumbling, no one would want to buy this house.

“It devalues my property and the village.

“You can’t see the windows or doors cause of the shrubbery and the outside wall is moving.

The overgrown church (Image: Newsquest)

The overgrown church

“We’ve had the police here; young people take drugs and drink outside – it attracts anti – social behaviour from other villages.”

Caerphilly Council have been approached for a comment.