Graffiti claiming "God is a lie" was also scrawled on the church's exterior. Lancashire Police said they were treating the attack as a "hate crime", while the Reverend Marc Wolverson described the perpetrators as "very sad, broken people".

A suspect was charged with a hate crime for a November attack on two Jewish students who were demonstrating in support of Israel at Chicago's DePaul University, the university and local officials said on Thursday.

An Illinois man is facing four felony counts stemming from an alleged hate crime attack on two Jewish students at Chicago's DePaul University last year.