A VOLUNTEER who gave his time to repair a vandalised church wall had his drill stolen by thieves.

The man was working to bolt down loose slabs outside St Oswald’s Church Hall, off Fecitt Brow in Knuzden, when two men approached from across the car park at about noon on Wednesday.

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One took the £110 drill from on top of the wall before running off.

Church warden Alison Critchley said he had been left feeling “frustrated” by the theft.

He said: “He was doing the work for free.

“The wall is quite low but on the top it has paving slabs and the mortar had gone over time.

“Kids had been pushing them and we were worried they would fall so he was bolting them down.

“He had two drills, one for drilling through and one for bolting.

“Two guys walked across the car park and one picked up the drill, shoved it under his coat, and walked off with it.

“It’s frustrating.”

Rev Anne Morris said the volunteer, called Paul, did not wish to speak out, but criticised the two men, who she said were in their early 20s.

She said: “Paul looks after the church yard and he was mending the church hall wall, which had been vandalised by somebody pushing the stones off the top onto the car park and pavement.

“He turned his back for 30 seconds and the drill was gone.

“I just think it’s very sad that a thoughtless act can cause us so much trouble.

“We exist to serve the local community and help some of the most vulnerable people that there are around.

“Everything we do is hard won and this is really upsetting.”

The church has just received a grant for CCTV and will have it installed in the next fortnight, Rev Morris said.

A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police confirmed the theft was reported as taking place between noon and 12.10pm on Wednesday.

She said: “Two youths walked past and it is believed they may be linked to the incident.”

Anybody with information should call police on 101, quoting log reference number 534 of March 25.