Thieves steal church collection box

St John the Baptist Church in Sedlescombe was left open for the public for prayers when the theft happened, sometime between 10am on Thursday May 13 and 9am the next day.

A collection box, which was thought to contain around 20, was taken from under the pulpit along with a small green curtain, which it is believed was used to wrap around the box.

The thieves also made off with a 500 candle stand, which stood 3ft tall and held 56 candles.

Sgt Dan Russell, of Battle police, said: "A lot of the churches are left open for places of sanctuary during the day and someone has taken advantage of this and used it as an opportunity to steal from the church.

"This is very sad and unacceptable and if anyone has any information, please contact myself directly on 0845 60 70 999."