A church in Kristianstad has been forced to hire guards to keep the peace at services after the disruptive behaviour of “new clientele” has become increasingly serious in recent years.

Christians have become frightened to visit the Holy Trinity church as newcomers are reported to yell loudly and smash liquor bottles during services, masturbate in the pews and urinate and defecate both inside and in the church grounds.

Concerned locals have even reported concern over attempts to kidnap children during baptism.

Police yesterday gave the go-ahead to the church to have Security guards at all future services, weddings and christenings. Staff have also received training on how to deal with threats and violence and sessions on conflict management are in the works, the Kristianstadsbladet reported.

Holy Trinity administrative manager Bengt Alvland told the newspaper that people have repeatedly tried to steal silver, and staff are having to keep the organ locked to prevent them from climbing on top of it to disturb worshipers.

He also recounted how, during baptism, people have tried to take children away from the priest and parents as the ceremony was ongoing. In addition, people have sat masturbating in the pews.

“[A man] was pulling on his penis. He did not stop, even when a female police officer told him to”, Alvland said, adding: “There are no limits or inhibitions for these people. It makes the staff feel very concerned”.

He revealed that the people whose behaviour is proving so disruptive are not the town’s “old homeless”, but are instead a “new clientele”.

“The fact that there are more security guards at the Town Hall and the railway station means there are fewer places for these people to go. Therefore, the church has become the weakest link”, Alvland explained.

Speaking on Holy Trinity’s request for security presence during services, he said: “We want a peaceful and safe environment for our staff and visitors”. The security industry is booming in Sweden, with sales for market leader Securitas reaching 80 billion Swedish krona in 2015, twice the amount the nation spends on defence.

After numerous comments on the story were posted on Kristianstadsbladet’s Facebook page, many of which connected the disturbances with mass migration to the city, the Swedish church issued a statement insisting that it’s “Swedish men aged 35-45 with drug problems” who are causing the trouble.

Stein Flom Jacobsen questioned this, writing on Facebook: “I see that these persons will be described as ‘Swedish men……’ what does that mean that they’re Swedish citizens, or that they are so-called ‘ethnic Swedes’? I know several addicts and have met a lot of them but never understood them to be menacing, or heard of this form of vandalism in churches, temples or mosques”.