Dwayne Mcleod, Staff Reporter

St Mark's Anglican Parish Church, Mandeville, facing the bus park. - Norman Grindley photos

Worshippers at the St Mark's Anglican Parish Church in Mandeville say unscrupulous persons have turned the place of worship into a public bathroom.

A low fence separates the church from the area where taxis to May Pen pick up and let off passengers. Consequently, the house of God has become a chosen spot for persons wishing to 'relieve' themselves, THE STAR has learnt.

One member of the church, Mrs James, explained that a gate leading from the church into the taxi park made for easy access. Not even signs and a padlocked gate have discouraged persons from relieving themselves on sacred ground.

"The church used to be so pretty, and now nobody don't even walk through that gate. It's terrible," she said, before noting that she had been worshipping at the church for some 40 years.

This man was caught on camara urinating in the St Mark's Anglican Parish Churchyard.

Despite the erection of a urinal in the taxi park, persons choose to urinate and defecate elsewhere, including inside the churchyard.

Upon walking through the park en route to the church, an unbearable stench defiled the air. church members say this is also a problem.

"Yes, sir, it is a big problem for us. It has been a problem for some years now," one church member said when asked about the stench.

Not even the dead have been shown the least bit of respect as even graves and other prepared burial spots are regularly used as toilets.

During a tour of the churchyard, faeces covered by dirt and walls stained by urine marks were noticed.

Miss Margaret, who has been a member of the church for 24 years, also pointed to a tiled area, just in front of the church kitchen, in which she claims the alleged intruders have, on a number of occasions, created a mess.

She also pointed to a burial spot where a known drug addict relieves himself daily while he carries out his illicit act.

These actions have even forced Miss Margaret to grille her grandmother's grave.

"Yu lucky seh since me and unnu deh yah, yu nuh si dem jump ova di wall and come stoop down," she said in a disgruntled tone of voice.

In just a matter of moments, however, THE STAR team would get a picture of the tales that were being told.

Upon leaving the churchyard, an individual was noticed urinating just beside the front gate of the church, in full view of about four church members, after which, the man simply turned around and sat beside the spot where he had just urinated.

"Unnu si him! Ketch him! Ketch him, nuh!" yelled two elderly men as they urged the photographer to take the man's photograph.

Brenda Ramsay, mayor of Mandeville, said the council, through the municipal police, had tried to deter the practice; however, despite arresting a few persons, the problem continued.

She also said the fines were not high enough to deter those held. Ramsay said getting people to respect the church is the only way to stop them from using the churchyard as a toilet.

In the meantime, church members with whom THE STAR spoke, said that there was very little they could do.

"If yu eva si dem and try talk to dem, yu wouldn't believe di words weh dem tell yuh," James said.