Lead flashing worth £2,000 has been stolen from a church roof by thieves who caused £50,000 worth of damage.

They struck at St Mark’s Church in Pysons Road, Ramsgate, after 5pm on Wednesday and before 11.50am on Sunday.

Police think the thieves gained access to the back of the church through a neighbouring garden and pushed over a chain link fence to get to the building.

PC Lisa Pickersgill says there must have been at least two thieves and they would have need some sort of transport.

She said: "St Mark’s is on the junction of Pysons Road and Margate Road in Ramsgate.

"Although the theft probably took place at night, this is one of the busiest junctions in Thanet so there is a chance that someone saw the thieves at work or a suspicious vehicle parked nearby.

“Any descriptions of the people or the vehicle they used could help our investigation.”

The lead flashing joining the original 1939 building to the newer 1967 extension was taken, along with the flashing from the double roof above the meeting rooms and the gulleys between the church hall and the two office wings.

The damage has left the church vulnerable to the weather because the roof is no longer watertight.

Crime scene investigators have been on the scene and house-to-house inquiries have been carried out.

PC Pickersgill said: “When thieves target a church, they are targeting not just a historic building but a whole community."

Anyone with information is asked to phone police on 01843 222289 quoting reference ZY/19486/15.