Another raid on church

FED UP . . . church warden Roy Atkinson.

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A CHURCH congregation feels targeted after their place of worship was burgled for the third time in three months.

St Thomas Leesfield Church, in Lees, was broken into overnight on Saturday in a mindless act of vandalism.

Deputy warden Roy Atkinson discovered the church had been "ransacked" when he arrived to open up for the Sunday morning service at around 10am.

The window leading to the vicar's vestry had been smashed through to gain entry and glass covered the floor inside the Grade II listed building.

Mr Atkinson said: "They had come in through a side window. Glass was scattered all over the floor and cupboard doors and drawers were opened where they had looked for things of value.

"The church was ransacked. They had gone right through the church, broken into the collection boxes and raided the kitchen.

"It is exactly the same as last time and the time before.

"We are being targeted and it is really sad."

Several small wooden boxes containing as little as £8 had been broken into.

The boxes are emptied regularly and only ever contain petty cash.

A first aid box had been thrown on the floor in the porch and a large coffee drinks container had been taken.

The intruder had made their way in through an 18-inch square leaded light window.

Mr Atkinson added: "The three incidents are almost identical. The only difference is that they came in through different windows.

"Now we have three of them boarded up.

"They are expensive to replace because they have to meet certain criteria due to the listed nature of the building."

In January a window at the rear of the church was smashed to gain entry.

In December 2016 the church was targeted in a similar offence whereby money was stolen. A porch window was also smashed and food was taken from a Christmas hamper.

Mr Atkinson said: "There is a great deal of anger about these break-ins. It is a beautiful church and I cannot understand why anybody would want to damage it.

"The money they are taking cannot be more than £7 or £8. We have had enough."