Church to increase its security following theft

A church is planning additional security measures after a statue and other items were stolen.

Lincolnshire Police received a report of the theft from St Hibald, in Ashby de la Launde, near Sleaford, just after 14:00 BST on Monday.

The stolen objects included a large wooden statue, believed to depict St Francis of Assisi, a 100-year-old chair and a prayer stool.

The Reverend Mark Kennard said the loss of the statue made it feel like a "family heirloom was taken away".

The thefts were discovered when a church member went to cut the grass on Monday morning and saw the padlock on the outer gate was missing, said Mr Kennard, who has been priest-in-charge at the church for eight years.

He said the thieves had "broken into somewhere precious" and added: "In my head and my heart I just compare it to someone's house."

The St Francis statue had been in the church for several generations, and most of the stolen items were likely to have been donated by families, he said.

Mr Kennard said the church would increase its security measures and take more precautions due to a "lack of trust".

The church is asking people to keep an eye out for any of the items appearing for sale online.

The value of the items was unknown, police said.

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