CHURCHES with graveyards attached be warned - robbers are on the prowl.

An elderly friend visited his old aunt's grave in Westhoughton Parish Church and discovered 26 valuable pieces of Yorkshire stone had been lifted from 17 graves.

The selective thieves have snatched the 6ft stone surrounds from the old graves but left behind those made of granite and marble.

These culprits can't just be young vandals, it would surely have taken evil men with transport to carry such heavy pieces away.

Is nothing sacred these days?