Burglars at St Peter’s Church in Sandwich may have only got away with small change but have left hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

The church is Market Street was targeted by thieves for the third time in a year, last night.

A passer by noticed the door to the building was open at about 7am this morning before raising the alarm.

A neighbour, who doesn’t want to be named, said: “It looks like they got in through the glass window at the side of the church and ripped through the place.

“They’ve broken the door from the inside.”

Pictures show how the culprits ransacked a desk and other furniture leaving items sprawled across the floor.

Door locks were also allegedly damaged and small change was taken from a donations box.

A traditional glass window and its led was also vandalised as part of the reported burglary.

A representative from the Churches Conservation Trust who own and run the church attended the scene this morning.

They said: “We are saddened to report that St Peter’s Church has again been targeted by mindless vandalism and theft during a break-in that was discovered this morning.

"Whilst the amount of money stolen was small, damage to the donations box and a window will cost The Churches Conservation Trust – the national charity that cares for the church - a significant amount of money to repair. We would ask that anyone with information relating to this incident contacts the local police.”

A police spokesman said: “We received a report of a burglary at a building on St Peter’s Street, Sandwich at 8.37am on Thursday, August 31 2017.

“Inquiries into the incident are ongoing.”

Another incident occurred at the church in February this year.