A company has offered to provide free security for a South Yorkshire church food and clothes bank which has been repeatedly targeted by a thief.

St John The Evangelist Church in Balby, Doncaster, has been targeted seven times, with stained glass windows smashed to gain entry on each occasion.

CCTV shows the intruder rifling through donations, which the church gives away to those who require them.

Now a Leeds-based firm has offered its services to act as a deterrent.

Speaking about the latest break-in a fortnight ago, the church called it “saddening and unbelievable”.

“He’s gone through another sacred window – it’s history being taken away from this church,” said Andy Unsworth, of St John’s Church and Multibank.

“This time they didn’t get any food because he’d taken it all before.”

After the story was featured on BBC Look North, the security firm Keep Safe & Secure offered to provide four weeks of overnight security at no cost.

James Michie, from the firm, said: “I just can’t understand why the kid keeps doing it, at the end of the day you can walk through the door and get a couple of loaves or whatever clothes you need.

“There’s no point breaking in and causing this much damage and the amount of money the church is having to pay out with the insurance excess.”

Appealing directly to the repeat intruder, Rev Derek Pamment said: “Talk to us, we would love to work through whatever’s driving this.

“We don’t want any harm, I would willingly go with them to the police, sit with them and support them.”

(Source: BBC)

(Images: Twitter)