CONCERN has been voiced about litter dumped outside a church.

The congregation at Eglwys Y Croes, Maesgeirchen, had worked hard alongside the community over Easter to clean up several parts of the surrounding area, including the church grounds.

But Phil Roberts, a member of the church, said: “We were really unhappy to discover that, after our special effort in readiness for Easter morning, the grounds had been covered in mess. There seemed to be remains of heavy drinking and smashed bottles were left all over the place.”

A second instance of littering followed just a week later.

Mr Roberts, 67, said he and a group of friends collected two bags full of rubbish from the church grounds alone.

The lawn, which had been mowed in preparation for the Easter service, had been covered in glass and so had the steps outside the church.

“That could obviously be a potential danger to anyone using the mower next time, as shards of glass could fly everywhere,” Mr Roberts said.

“We have to diminish this anti-social behaviour as soon as possible and so we are asking members of our community to help us prevent such acts from happening again.

“This is holy ground and the children love to play here too.”