Loftus church Christmas donation and records safe stolen
- Published
Burglars have stolen the safe from the church in Loftus
A church safe containing £1,000 in Christmas donations and historical records has been stolen.
Burglars took the 2ft (61cm) by 2ft combination safe from St Joseph's and St Cuthbert's Church in Loftus, Teesside, during Thursday night.
The safe contained cash meant for a children's charity and documents covering historical church incidents from the last 100 years.
Cleveland Police has appealed for information and witnesses.
The grey safe was stolen between 19:00 GMT on Thursday and 09:00 on Friday.
'Unchristian act'
The money had been donated for Mary's Meals, a charity which feeds impoverished children around the world.
In a social media post said to be written on behalf of Father Simon Broughton, an appeal was made for the safe's return.
The message said: "It's understood that the huge amount of money you also stole may now have been spent but the registers are irreplaceable and of little use to you."
The post also said Father Broughton was "disgusted" by the "disrespectful act".
MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland Simon Clarke said: "This was a cowardly and unchristian act and whoever did it needs to be caught.
"You need to be exceptionally morally lost to steal from a church at Christmas."