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Churches need bouncers to avoid terrorism

Recommendations include hiring security to guard the doors of churches during service and installing CCTV cameras and alarms.

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ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“It’ll be a small church where there’s not much around and the police are a long way away”.

“Churches in the past were considered low risk – now we know an attack is coming. and churches are one of the easy targets”.

The 85-year-old had his throat slit by two IS (Daesh) inspired jihadists whilst leading mass in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.

Counter Terrorism Advice for Churches, from National Churchwatch which provides safety and security advice to churches, also advises congregations on what to do if they are at a service which is attacked.

The draft 12-page document by National Churchwatch says that churches need to make sure doors can be bolted and that worshippers are aware of what to do in the event they spot anything suspicious, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Someone should be present by the door while the congregation is inside, according to the guidance.

He said there was no intelligence to suggest such an attack was being planned in Britain but that it made sense for church leaders to review their security plans.

He said: “It won’t be Westminister Abbey or St Paul’s, it will be a little church in Bolton or Birmingham. You can walk into any church on a Sunday morning and it probably won’t be a gun, it will be a knife”.

Since the attack in France anti-terrorism police have warned churches to be on alert. “The advice is now run and get out of the area”.

One man of the cloth said he has been advised not to wear his dog collar out and about amid fears he could be singled out in a terror attack.

“They are at risk, it only takes seconds for someone to stab a large number of people as we have seen in various attacks around the country”.

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Mr Tolson admitted to the Mirror that he had heard concerns about vicars wearing a dog collar in public but said he disagreed with religious leaders changing the way they normally act. The money is meant to be spent on security equipment, and individual churches still have to chip in 20 percent.

Toby Melville