A parish priest has praised the community spirit in Huncoat after thieves ransacked his church.

Father Martin Saunders, from Our Lady’s Church,  said locals have donated time, money and effort to help reduce costs following the incident in January.

Thugs smashed the main chapel door and the altar before stealing two chalices worth more than £2,000. The raid caused thousands of pounds of damages and Mass was cancelled for the first time in the church’s 90-year history.

The church managed to reopen for mass the following the weekend following a staunch community effort. 

Fr Saunders said the church is now getting ‘back to normal’ after a ‘very stressful time’.

He said: “A lot of the replacements we got were second hand and we now have a new alarm system in place.

“People donated their time, money and labour. The work on the doors were charged at a minimum rate and the chalices are from another church which had closed down. It’s brought the community together. The people up there are great and have a tremendously proud history.”

Fr Saunders added: “We have had a great Easter celebration and we got a good crowd with a few new people thanks to the new Pope.”

Anyone with information on the raid can contact police on 101.