Drunk man smashed church window, stole candlesticks and interfered with human remains

A drunk man’s ‘impulsive and reckless’ behaviour in a church has cost him over £11,000.

Craig Knight, 50, smashed a stained glass window, stole two brass candlesticks and opened a box of ashes at St Anne’s, Kew.

His crimes were discovered by Reverend Canon Dr Giles Fraser who saw blood on the alter and floor of the church.

He quickly realised the candlesticks were missing and that Knight had gone into a mausoleum behind the altar where he opened the box containing ashes.

Racked by guilt, Knight eventually reported what had happened on January 10 to the police, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard.

Chairman of the bench Peter Jones said there was ‘recklessness and impulse’, but acknowledge Knight’s remorse.

Reverend Fraser said: ‘I did feel quite angry when it happened. But the fact that the candles were returned, I think, made people feel rather sorry for him.’

After pleading guilty to criminal damage and removal of human remains from a place of burial, Knight was sentenced to a 12-month community order.

He’s been fined a total of £11,415, including legal costs, and must carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

St Anne’s Church was founded in 1714 after Queen Anne approved a chapel to be built on Kew Green.

It is the burial place of artists Thomas Gainsborough, Johann Zoffany and George Engleheart, and botanist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker.

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