TEENS have given up their own time to help protect a church from crime after working with police in Huddersfield to help deter vandalism.

Officers from the Huddersfield Neighbourhood Policing Team praised volunteer police cadets for their work to help safeguard the Huddersfield Parish Church from vandalism following recent damage there.

A group of 13-18-year-old volunteer cadets worked with the Huddersfield Town Centre Partnership Team, Huddersfield NPT and Huddersfield Bid to clear the area around the church of items which could be used to damage it.

As part of the cadet course, the Kirklees Volunteer Cadets carried out a crime prevention problem solving exercise around the church and identified there were a lot of stones and pieces of cement in and around St Peter’s Gardens.