THE PARISH PRIEST at St Augustine’s Church in Penarth has reassured the community that a bizarre notice posted on the entrance to its consecrated graveyard claiming that it was being used for ‘filming with flashing lights and imitation weapons’ was a hoax.
A large notice had been posted on the Church Place South entrance last week delivering a warning to people living nearby, while telling them ‘not to be alarmed’.
The notice was illegal as it did not include the printer’s name or its publisher, nor did it state who was responsible for the filming. The full notice read:
“CAUTION! FILMING IN PROGRESS…FILMING WITH FLASHING LIGHTS AND IMITATION WEAPONS…PLEASE BE AWARE THERE WILL BE FLASHING LIGHTS AND WEAPONS IN USE WITHIN THIS FILMING AREA. PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED. ALL RELEVANT AGENCIES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE AWARE AND HAVE APPROVED OUR PLANS…WE APPRECIATE YOUR COOPERATION AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE”.
The notice caused distress to some local residents whose relatives are buried in the cemetery, which is far older than the church itself.
Rev Mark Jones, parish priest at St Augustine’s, confirmed that the notice was a hoax: “These signs have been appearing in a number of places in Penarth, including some of the parks.
“The whole thing is very silly, really. I’ve informed the police but my guess would be it’s some children involved in some end-of-term prank or such like.
“I’m aware this has caused local people a degree of distress, but I can reassure everybody that the graveyard is consecrated ground and no permission has been given to anyone for filming to take place,” he said.
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