Vandals wreak havoc at All Saints Orthodox Church, North Benfleet

Father Jakob, priest at the All Saints Orthodox Church in North Benfleet, fears the memorial was the only one in the country remembering a soldier from the Battle of Waterloo.

Although wounded, John Cole heroically persevered until the victory, before passing on April 10 1836 at age 51.

The group spent an hour joyriding a tractor, drinking alcohol and taking selfies at a farm neighbouring the church.

A church window was also smashed at the site on North Benfleet Hall Road during the early hours of Sunday morning.

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He said: “We looked back at CCTV and they’d been messing around between 1.30am and 4am in the morning.

“We hadn’t heard anything and left the church at 3am, by which time they’d been riding the tractor up and down the field for about an hour.

“They actually talked to us as we left, knocking on the car window and said I’ve left some stuff in the church including a black bag, but it was so late I didn’t go back in for it.

“It turns out they came back about 3.50am and smashed their way in through the window as well as targeting the memorial stone out the front with what we think was a large stone or rock.

“There are plenty in honour of officers, but this is significant as it’s for a soldier, it’s now smashed into pieces.”

Robert Lyon, who runs the farm with his family, believes the clumsy criminals then came back on Sunday evening.

The 61-year-old from Benfleet, said: “When they came back my brother John and my colleague recognised their description, so ran and tried to catch them but they got away.

“They’d left change behind in one of our tractors as well as bottles and a Tesco receipt at the site, so they certainly won’t make career burglars.”

Anyone with any information should call Essex Police on 101 quoting 42/81908/21.