A vandal named Jesus has pledged to become a monk – after he smashed up a church.
Jesus Luke Ripley, 27, smashed the windows of St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Wiltshire during an overnight bout of violence.
But in repentance, he penned an apology letter the church’s leader, Father Mark Whiting, which said he “wants to be a monk”.
Ripley, of Faversham, Kent, admitted causing £978 damage to the church in May and was told by magistrates in Portsmouth to cough up the amount.
Father Whiting said Jesus’s name was “interesting” after he discovered the coincidence.
He added: “Through restorative justice he’s also written to me a letter saying that he would never have broken into a church if he hadn’t been chased and he was looking for refuge and he wants to be a monk.”
By Lewis Pennock
