Additional reporting by John Nurden

A 900-year-old church has been vandalised with homemade jam - forcing a vicar to douse the place with holy water.

The preserves had been left in St Thomas the Apostle Church Harty, in Leysdown , for parishioners to buy, with the money going towards the remote building's upkeep.

A lit candle was discovered near a wooden door which could have spelt disaster had parishioners not found it and extinguished the flame.

Church warden Sue Hopper said: "At least the flame didn't reach the door so the arsonist, if they were trying to burn the church down, didn't do a good job of it."

The scene was discovered yesterday at around 11am by Mrs Hopper's neighbours and parishioners who wanted to buy the jam.

The door was already unlocked, as is customary during the day.

Mrs Hopper, 71, who was part of a small clean-up crew this morning , said: "There were jars of jam everywhere just emptied out.

"As you walked in there was an absolute mountain of jam on the floor. They had gone down the aisles putting jam here, there and everywhere.

"When you got to the altar there were cigarettes butts on the floor, a beer can and a screwdriver."

She said 'massive' cigarette burns were also found on the carpet and another carpet had been ruined with candle wax.

The vandals also attacked the Lady Chapel, a section which was locked, and destroyed a flower decoration.

Because the candle was still lit, Mrs Hopper believes the culprits had not been gone for long before the scene was discovered.

The Rev Cindy Kent also joined the clean-up team and expressed her sadness and shock over the crime.

She said: "I performed a blessing and sprinkled holy water over every inch of the place to try to make amends for this terrible desecration.

"These people took the lids off the home-made jam and honey which is sold at the back of the church and smeared it all over the place.

"How anyone can do such a thing is beyond me. They have no respect at all.

"One of the nicest things I liked about Sheppey when I moved here from London was that the churches could be left open during the day.

"This is the saddest thing I have seen and has completely betrayed my trust. It is just awful for anyone to do such a thing. This is my favourite church on the island."

'This is the saddest thing I have seen and has completely betrayed my trust...'

She said when police forensics experts began their investigation they were "helped by God."

She said: "A ray of sunshine came through one of the little windows and lit up a corner of the carpet where the police found a screwdriver and lighters stashed underneath. It was as if God was helping to show the way. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stick up when I heard about it."

The tiny church is so remote that it has no electricity and has to be lit with oil lamps and candles.

The reverend added: "This is such a terrible thing to happen to this beautiful church. This is a distressing time for Harty Church and is not something we would have ever thought to happen."

There were around 24 jam jars put out last week in the church and parishioners pay into an honesty box.

The money from the condiment sales goes towards paying the building's insurance, which costs £1,800 per year.

Luckily, no services were planned for this weekend.

Nothing of significant value was damaged but the church is welcoming donations. To help, click here .

A spokesman for Kent Police said: "Officers are investigating following criminal damage at a church in Harty Ferry Road, Leysdown.

"The incident happened between 4.30pm on Thursday and 11.30am on Friday. Damage was caused when jam was emptied and smeared over the floor and chairs and flower arrangements were smashed." Anyone with any information should call 01474 366149 quoting reference 46/148530/20.

You can also call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or complete the online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here.

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