Vandals have attacked gravestones at the historic St. Peter's Church in St. George's for the fourth time since last fall.

Rev. David Raths condemned the "disrespectful" wrecking spree last night, saying the church will now have to pay out around $4,000 to install security cameras to combat the problem.

Police received word of the latest damage yesterday morning.

The vandals struck sometime after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, damaging three headstones and dislodging a fourth.

Rev. Raths told The Royal Gazette the affected stones date back to at least 1854 when the graveyard was closed.

The church has a number of costly renovation projects in the pipeline and security cameras will seriously dent the budget but he feels there's no choice.

"This has been very unsettling to people in the community who don't understand how people could be so disrespectful," he said. "Women who used to walk in the streets feeling safe are more fearful now because of this rogue element in the town."

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with any information to contact the Southside Police Station on 293-2222.