An anniversary celebration at Orrisdale Chapel went ahead as planned after police helped organisers gain access to the historic building when its locks were found filled with superglue.

The chapel's 183rd anniversary event, held on Sunday July 19, was briefly placed in doubt after organisers discovered they could not unlock the doors ahead of the service.

Officers attended the scene and were able to remove the damaged locks, allowing the event to proceed as planned.

Speaking after the incident, chapel volunteer Pauline Brew said the vandalism had threatened to disrupt one of the chapel's key annual occasions.

‘We had this big celebration coming up and we couldn’t get into the chapel,’ Pauline said. ‘Thankfully the police managed to free the locks.’

She said police informed her that, without evidence such as CCTV footage or witnesses, no further action could currently be taken, although an incident report would be completed.

Despite the disruption, the anniversary celebrations attracted a strong turnout and featured performances from a number of well-known local entertainers.

The lesson was read by new resident Diana Saxby, while Bob Harrison gave a talk entitled ‘My Life in Manx Radio’.

Musical performances came from Penny Lavery, Austin Pegg – winner of this year's Sheffield Plate at the Manx Music Festival – former Cleveland Medal winner Neil Taverner, Sarah Shimmin and Simon Bampton, with Austin Pegg also performing a monologue.

The afternoon concluded with a traditional English afternoon tea, with those attending contributing food and donations towards the chapel.

Reflecting on the event, Mrs Brew said: ‘People love that chapel. We get people coming from all over the island, and we want to preserve it as an example of a Primitive Methodist chapel, as was in 1840.

‘Chapels are shutting down everywhere, but we have these four special occasions a year, alongside occasional charity events, coffee mornings and art exhibitions.’