POLICE officers dressed in forensics sparked concern among neighbours after they were spotted going into a churchyard blighted by anti-social behaviour.
On Tuesday night, two ambulances, one unmarked police car, a normal police car and crime scene investigators were spotted on Cowley Road.
Eyewitnesses told this paper that they had seen a stretcher being taken into St Mary and St John Church.
Yesterday morning Thames Valley Police revealed that there had been a report of a fear for welfare of a man at 7.55pm.
A spokesperson said: "South Central Ambulance Service were also called and treated the man at the scene.
"He did not need require hospital treatment."
Vicar Philip Ritchie said the incident comes after a string of ‘problems’ in the graveyard.
He said: “We had problems with drugs [here] for a while now.
“There was a lot of noise in the churchyard and my wife called 999. I wasn’t here when it happened but there were police and ambulance service attended.”
In 2018, the churchyard was forced closed by police officers in an attempt to crackdown on criminal activity.
‘Brazen’ drug dealers, often on bicycles, had become a rising problem for the church due to its multiple exits making it more difficult to police.
At the time, Father Ritchie said the ‘tough’ decision to block the entrances on Cowley Road, Magdalen Road, and Leopold Street had been made after a ‘long consultation’ with police and the council.
Padlocked gated had remained solemnly undisturbed for eight months in a bid to cut down on criminal activity blighting the ground.
During that time, members of the congregation had made a ‘green oasis’ with hedges, plants, fresh grass and flowers in hopes to deter anyone who used it when it reopened from ruining the mini nature reserve.
Parish administrator Matthew Hiscock described wanting to reopening the space for the community saying the closure was ‘demoralising’ and ‘depressing’.
It was June 2019 when they finally reopened.
A month later, in July 2019, neighbourhood police officers who are based in the unassuming office next to Manzil Way gardens (opposite the church) described to the Oxford Mail the sheer amount of anti-social behaviour in the graveyard in just one month.
Sergeant Neil Bouse and PC Pete Grantham were patrolling the area weekly to assess the situation and pointed out purposely ripped up headstones and hideous litter including empty beer cans strewn all over the grass.
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This story was written by Shosha Adie.
She joined the team in 2022 as a digital reporter.
To get in touch with her email: Shosha.Adie@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter: @ShoshaAdie
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