CLERGYMEN in Wharfedale gave a cautious welcome this week to a call for church doors to remain open to the public during the day.

The Churches Tourism Association says that churches are a visible opportunity in every place to engage with the local community throughout the week and not just when the building is used for congregational worship.

The threat of crime and vandalism may deter many parishes from welcoming this change, but the CTA says that many churches which change from being locked to being open all day find that crime, especially vandalism, significantly decreases or even ceases altogether.

Christchurch in The Grove, Ilkley, is one of the few churches that remains open to the community throughout the day and has an 'open door' policy.

The church has its own coffee centre which is open from Monday to Saturday and people are also free to use the building as a sanctuary for private worship.

Margo Atkinson, secretary of the Worship Committee at Christchurch, said: "Our policy is to keep our church open all day and we enjoy making the premises available to the public."

Christchurch has experienced incidents of mild vandalism in the past but Ms Atkinson said: " We will not to let it affect our church."

The CTA is encouraging churches to welcome visitors and urges that: 'When a church is left open, many people visit who would not wish to attend a church service.

"Many churches already invite people to leave prayer requests and also thanksgiving, and these can enable the congregations to fulfil their role of offering prayer for the whole community.

Simon Hammond, minister at Guiseley Baptist Church said: "We have had a lot of problems with theft in the past.

"However we strike a balance between being sensible and careful so that we can still remain open when possible for the public, as long as there is someone here."

Similarly Father Richard Hoyal, Vicar of St Margaret's Parish Church in Queens Road, Ilkley, commented: "There is always a danger of opportunistic crime but our church is constantly busy which means there is less chance of crime happening.

"We stay open all day, every day and are very fortunate to have had very little crime here."

Feelings in Wharfedale were that although some churches have unfortunately been affected by some sort of crime or vandalism, they strive to stay open to the public as much as possible.

The CTA says that churches have often found that local residents often respond to a newly reopened church with a heartfelt: 'We've got our church back.'

The Rev Cayte Norman is the chairman of the Tourist Association for St Oswald's Parish Church, Guiseley, where the marriage of Patrick and Maria Bronte took place.

She said: "Because of the wedding the church sees a lot of tourists so we stay open for the main part of the day.

With so many people going in and out it makes it unlikely for crime to take place,. However if that was the case the benefits of staying open to the public far outweigh the small risk."