A minister wants residents to act as a "church watch" group in Buttershaw after a funeral party arrived to find the building had been vandalised.

Church Army Officer Captain Roy Wheatley, who is part of the staff team at St Aidan's, found four glass panels in the door had been wrecked by stones when he arrived for the 10am service.

He believes residents need to work together to help stop a recent "smashing spree" which is blighting the regeneration work on the estate.

"We were shocked to find the glass panels in the door had been broken, it wasn't a very nice reception for this funeral party," he said.

"Their grandmother had been a community person and stood up for what was right and I would appeal to people to help watch the church as well as the community." The Anglican church, on The Crescent, is part of Buttershaw Healthy Living Centre and was opened in August 2001 as part of Royds Community Association's seven year £31 million regeneration of the area.

But Captain Wheatley said: "There is a lot of regeneration going on but it is not going to help unless people have a change of heart and take issue with these things.

"It is not just the church, there is damage in the bus stops and telephone boxes, there seems to be a smashing spree."

He urged people to call him on Bradford (01274) 607486 if they saw damage being done to the church or to phone the police.

The Rev John Springbett, pictured, is team rector for Buttershaw and Shelf. He said they wanted to make sure new buildings were kept in good condition.

"We would appeal to everybody to assist us because the churches and the other buildings in use are spaces where the community can come together. We don't want to keep on being set back by having to repair unnecessary damage," he said.

Councillor Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey) said vandalism on the estate was being caused by a small minority of people.

"This is an excellent idea for the community. I am sure the police would want to work with the residents to tackle this problem," he said.

"Vandalism can really knock the morale out of a community and I urge people to support this."

A police spokesman said: "While we welcome this minister's involvement and his community spirit, we would encourage people to report all crimes directly to the police then this information can be collated and plans put in place to tackle any problems."

Anyone with information about crime can contact the police on 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111