Three boys aged 10 and 11 charged over Greenisland church fire

The blaze broke out at the place of worship last Sunday evening (September 1) as nine fire appliances and 49 firefighters attended the scene on Station Road.

Fire crews had to be called out to the church for a second time on Monday night, after a fire had wrecked the church hall and part of the main church building the previous night.

In a statement, the PSNI say they have charged two boys aged 11 and a 10-year-old with arson. The trio are due to appear at Belfast Youth Court on Monday, September 30.

They added that they are not treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

Parishioners of the church held their Sunday service at Greenisland Methodist, where they were given an update by Rev Izzy Hawthorne-Steele.

She said: "The church hall is demolished and it's going to have to be totally put down.

"The youth room at the minute has collapsed in as well and underneath that is the quiet room and we are in fear of that coming down. If it goes then everything within the quiet room is going to be compromised.

"The stained glass windows of the church are still intact and we are very hopeful that the walls will sustain their rigour and strength and that won't be compromised.

"We've lost a lot within the church because of damage. That's water damage and smoke damage, so we are in fear of things like our furnishings.

"One of the choir pews we put in the store has burnt...we are not sure of the state of the organ. We also think the piano is ruined.

"We got some vases and stands out but it's too dangerous now to go anywhere near it.

"We think we have lost our chairs due to the elements and the fire."

Rev Hawthorne-Steele confirmed that the church is going to be fenced off on Tuesday morning for health and safety reasons.

It was added that the Church of Ireland will use the hall at Greenisland Methodist until Harvest (October 13), with discussions to be made about future plans.