Faith communities are being urged by the mayor of Tower Hamlets to bid for a government fund now being doubled to improve security against hate crime.

Churches, mosques, synagogues and temples can apply for cash to pay for new gates, locks, alarms and CCTV to deter and prevent hate crime.

John Biggs had lobbied the government to put more into the fund which has now been doubled from £1.6m to £3.2m.

But there could be a scramble for the limited cash in the nationwide fund which is open until August 9, he warns.

“It’s likely to be a competitive bidding process,” the mayor said.

“There have been a number of attacks against places of worship around the world in recent years — it’s important we work together to boost security at faith institutions and keep worshippers safe and will support them to bid for this money.”

The Mayor has now written to faith institutions inviting them to apply with a promise to help to “submit strong bids”.

Applications can be made for up to three security measures, to a maximum at £56,000, with the place of worship or faith community centre contributing 20 per cent of the security measures.

Evidence of “vulnerability to hate crime” targeting religion is also needed before completing the online application.