Thieves break into church and steal children's charity collection from Christmas show

A church in London has bounced back after thieves stole money raised from a Christmas celebration for a children's charity.

Two men broke into Christ Church in the Parish of Wanstead, east London, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They were caught on the Anglican church's CCTV prizing a safe off the wall and hauling it back outside, before fleeing the scene on a bicycle and an e-scooter.

The thieves took hundreds of pounds that had been raised by the church through its recent Christingle celebration, with the money bound for The Children's Society charity.

The safe also contained church records, including those relating to its garden of remembrance that detail where the deceased's ashes are buried.

On Sunday, the church announced news of the break-in on its social media platforms, and asked people to help replace the charity money by donating to The Children's Society via a JustGiving page, which has so far raised more than £2,000.

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Fr James Gilder, the rector of Wanstead, told Yahoo News UK he was "bowled over" by the response.

"I am so thankful to everyone. It shows the community spirit, it shows how well regarded the church is, which is lovely.

"The community response has turned something bad into something quite gracious, and shown a little bit of that Christmas spirit."

The parish has two churches, Christ Church on Wanstead Place and nearby St Mary's, and the vicar said he is "worried" the other place of worship could be targeted next.

He said that police officers have visited the scene of the break-in since it was reported.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police told Yahoo News UK: "Officers were called at around 6.40am on Sunday 10 December to reports of a break-in and theft at Christ Church, Wanstead Place, E11.

"The theft was believed to have happened during the early hours that morning.

"Police have been to visit the church. There have been no arrests so far but enquiries are ongoing."

The incident at Christ Church came two weeks after another break-in at a different St Mary's Church in nearby Walthamstow, just two miles away.

Fr Gilder said two men broke into Christ Church at about 3.30am on Sunday, using tools to break through the front door.

"We have big Victorian double doors and they prized an entire plank of wood from the door and got in that way," he said.

"They were obviously looking for money or silver. They made a real mess of the church, ransacked cupboards, destroyed metal cabinets and files, pulled doors out of filing cabinets. They damaged quite a lot, actually.

"They went into our office and they stole, amongst other things, the safe, which they prized off the wall, and our CCTV shows them bringing it out the front door.

"There were two young men and - believe it or not - they arrived on a bicycle and an e-scooter.

"Our CCTV shows them actually making off with the safe on the back of the scooter."

Fr Gilder said he believed the stolen money raised for The Children's Society through the Christingle service, which was attended by about 250 worshippers, was "a few hundred pounds".

According to The Children's Society, Christingle celebrations, which have been taking place in UK churches for more than 50 years, are named after the Christingles that are lit during the ceremony.

These are oranges wrapped in red tape, decorated with dried fruit or sweets, with a candle on the top.

Fr Gilder said: "In the safe were all of our records - who was baptised, who was confirmed, who got married, and also more sadly the records from our garden of remembrance, where people's ashes are buried."

He had a message for the thieves, saying: "It's my job to forgive people... but people have to know what's right and what's wrong, and forgiving something doesn't make the action right.

"Of course they're forgiven, but they need to know what they're doing isn't just robbing a building - it's robbing an entire community."

Regarding a separate break-in at a different church two weeks previously, the Metropolitan Police told Yahoo News UK: "Police are investigating a burglary that took place at St Mary’s Church in Walthamstow, E17, on 26 November.

"A quantity of cash was stolen from a tin inside the church. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing."

Police said their inquiries included trying to establish if there is any link between the two incidents.

Click here to donate to The Children's Society via the Parish of Wanstead.