Burglars trashed a community cafe and foodbank at a Brighton church.
Community meetings at St George’s Church in Kemp Town had to be cancelled on Thursday while police worked at the scene.
The burglars had broken open the till at the cafe, but no money is kept there overnight so they found it empty.
They damaged rooms across the church, including the room used as a foodbank and the robes room.
Reverend Andrew Manson-Brailsford from St George’s has appealed for anyone with information or witnesses to get in touch with Sussex Police.
He said: “They’ve done an awful lot of damage for no great gain. It’s not just about the damage, it’s about the community effect.
“Given that it’s such a community resource it really breaks my heart that people will come in and steal what they can.
“We live in a fallen and broken world and we’re going through a heck of a lot of trouble with the cost of living crisis and everything else.
“To some extent you can half understand why someone may be in desperate need.
“All we can do is not to judge, not to give up, and carry on the good work that we do in Kemptown and Brighton.
“I don’t understand how people can attack something where we’re all trying to work together for the common good.
“It’s strange, it’s been one of the few days where I’ve been in the church and it’s empty. It feels desolate and I really can’t wait to hear the voices back in.”
The break-in happened somewhere between 8pm yesterday and 8am this morning Thursday, 11 August.
Cancelled activities included a meeting of the learning disabilities group Speak Out.
St George’s, which doesn’t have CCTV, was also burgled in March this year, when equipment from Brighton Community Workshop Project’s tool library were stolen from the basement of the church.
Sussex Police said: “Witnesses or anyone with information can contact us online or on 101 and quote serial 454 of 11/08.”
