THIEVES have caused an estimated £10,000 worth of damage to a rural church by stealing lead and damaging stonework.

Police have appealed for witnesses following the incident in Redmire, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, which took place at some point between 5pm on Monday, February 23 and 8am the following day.

St Mary's Church, which dates back to the 12th century, previously had an all-lead roof, but this was stolen by thieves more than 20 years ago and the lead was replaced with steel.

The lead taken earlier this week was the small amount left around the edge of the building.

Reverend Lynn Purvis-Lee, vicar of the Penhill benefice, said the police estimated the damage to be around £10,000, although they were waiting for confirmation from builders and the insurance company.

She added: "All the coping stones were pulled to get to the lead and then thrown to the ground.

"It's quite miraculous that none of the headstones below were smashed.

"The inside of the church was not damaged. We were quite lucky that there was no leakage, given the bad weather we've been having.

"The lead will be replaced with steel and there's none left now, so there's nothing left for them to take."

North Yorkshire Police confirmed officers attended the church on Tuesday morning.

A spokeswoman said: "We found that the thieves had caused extensive damage by dislodging about two thirds of the coping stones to get to the lead.

"We would like to speak to anyone with information on this incident."

To call North Yorkshire Police about the incident, dial 101 and ask to speak to Leyburn police station.