TAVISTOCK'S parish church was dealt a blow last week when it was discovered the collection box had been emptied by a thief — who had even managed to change the locks.

The collection box at St Eustachius' Church, which is situated at the end of a pew at the back of the church, was found to have been emptied and it was discovered the locks had been changed when the keys no longer worked.

Sgt Dave Anning, from Tavistock Police Station, said: 'It appears that a thief went to the trouble of changing the locks on the collections box. Presumably this was to enable him or her to keep coming back to the box and collecting any donations.

'The ruse was discovered when attempts to open the box failed. If someone has seen anyone tampering with the box or otherwise acting suspiciously around the church, could they please get in contact.'

Churchwarden Piers O'Neill said it was a shame that someone felt the need to steal from the church.

He said: 'It was very sad. We empty the boxes on a regular basis so we spotted it quickly. The box has two padlocks on it and they had been snapped off and replaced by two new ones. We use the collection money for the upkeep of the church — I believe it costs around £300 a day to keep it running.

'It's disappointing that whoever it was didn't come to us directly if they were in need, we could have tried to find a way to help them.'

Mr O'Neill said the locks had now been changed back and they will be emptying the collection box daily from now on.

Anyone who has any information about this incident is asked to contact PC Cathy Veale on 101, quoting crime reference number CR/001348/15.