THE theft of two teddy bears from a baby's grave has shocked churchgoers in Hurworth.

A distressed aunt of the child, who was only a few days old, alerted members of All Saints' Church, which issued a stern warning in its newsletter.

"This is not what we expect in Hurworth and we hope that this is the first, and last, incident of this nature," it read.

A churchwarden said: "We have actually had one of the teddies returned by a woman who found it lying at the lych gate and the relatives are just delighted.

"But the other one, which was in a plastic bag to shield it from the weather, is still missing.

"A dog might have picked them up or some children - it is all speculation at the moment. But we would appeal for the other teddy to be returned."

The church is also plagued by teenagers who sit inside the lych gate and leave chip trays, cans and other litter behind.

"They are only five steps away from a bin but they can't even be bothered to use it. We could also do without the graffiti," the churchwarden added.