HEARTLESS thieves have broken into Sheering's historic medieval church just days after it was nearly destroyed by a fire.

St Mary's, in Church Lane, was almost completely gutted in the four-hour blaze last Monday night (January 11), which is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault.

And on Thursday the ordeal only worsened for church elders when it was discovered that burglars had forced their way into a secure room in another part of the building and stolen two lawn mowers worth over £600.

Reverend Brian Surtees said: “To have this come along on top of everything else has threatened to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, but we've all had to be resilient and we're trying not to let it get to us.

“Clearly they knew about the fire and exploited the church because of it.”

But one piece of good news for the congregation is that initial investigations have found that the Grade I listed structure will not need to be demolished as feared.

Rev Surtees said: “We still need some more structural surveys but at this stage we hope to have the church repaired within a year. We don't know about costs but it will run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“The fire caused great sadness and heartache but the life of the church is the people and the community and that's been undamaged by this disaster.”

The church has now issued an appeal for donations to pay for the repair costs, but hope much of it will be funded by insurers.

Arrangements are also being made for several weddings and funerals that had been scheduled to take place at the church, while other services will be be held in its hall until the repairs are complete.

Donations can be made payable to The Friends of St Mary’s Sheering and sent to the Benefice office, The Vicarage, Broomfields, Hatfield Heath CM23 7NR.

Call 01279 730288 for more information.