THIEVES have once again threatened Heysham's heritage by stealing ancient stones from St Peter's Church.

Twenty large roof stones were being stored at the 1,000-year-old village church for when the existing ones needed replacing.

It is believed thieves made off with them sometime over the weekend.

The Rev David Tickner says the stone was worth only around £200 - but it was 'irreplaceable' as far as the church is concerned.

He is appealling to local people to keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious to the police.

"The church is made of local stone but there are no local quarries left, so stone can only be recovered from local buildings when they are demolished," he says.

"The porch repairs took such a long time because finding the stone was very difficult."

St Peter's requires constant and expensive repairs, which he says are only possible because of village fundraisers.

"It is very sad when this happens after all the good work local people have done. The vandalism and theft we are suffering is at a cost to the people of England because of its heritage," he says.

This is the third raid on the church in the past year, with thieves helping themselves to stone from the church walls and paths. It has also fallen victim to vandalism with Victorian pillars and lamps being smashed.

"We brought the National Trust in to protect the area in 1990 because we care about it. Now the National Trust is worried about the vandalism, but it keeps happening," says Barbara Verhoef, of Heysham Heritage As-sociation and Heritage Centre manager.

"Years ago people would never have dared do such a thing, but nothing is sacred anymore - not even a church."

PC Shaun McKirgan says the police are looking to combat the repeated attacks on St Peter's and urges people to report anything suspicious.

"We need to know who is committing these crimes as all these instances add up and make life unpleasant for local people."

o The Central Methodist Church on Green Street, Morecambe, was targeted by vandals overnight on Sunday. Objects were thrown at a window, causing £70 of damage.