A CHURCH congregation in Okehampton was determined to enjoy Christmas this year despite the theft of valuable heating oil from the tank at All Saints Church.

Thieves stole 1,000 litres of kerosene — worth £556 — from the tank outside the historic building on Church Path.

A police spokesman said the combination padlock securing the tank had been forcibly removed and the tank drained sometime between 8pm on Tuesday December 21 and 9am on Christmas Eve.

The Okehampton Neighbourhood Policing Team have been informed, although no arrests have been made so far.

Rector the Rev Stephen Cook said: 'When I got to the church to prepare for my Christmas services it felt cold, so I checked the oil gauge, which was flashing empty. I went to look at the tank and saw that the padlock had been forced: somebody had helped themselves.'

Despite the cold conditions, Mr Cook says the congregation were determined to enjoy the Christmas service.

'We found lots of fan heaters and served hot chocolate before the Christmas morning service. Word seemed to have got out quickly, as people were turning up to the service with blankets.

'I was very pleased with Christmas, considering the circumstances — you had to be very determined to get to church this year and, understandably, older people didn't want to take the risk. In spite of that, though, numbers weren't too bad and the atmosphere was lovely.

'The church was full of candlelight and everyone went away with a smile on their face.'

The church has now received a new delivery of oil and has secured the tank.

However, with the price of heating oil soaring over recent months, churchwarden Annette Bennett said the incident has put a dent in the church's finances.

'This was a real blow to the church as we've managed to get to the end of the year paying all our bills. We're hoping our insurance will pay out. We're also improving the security of our tank to prevent this happening again.'

Police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them, quoting reference JO/10/1026, on 08452 777 444.