A churchyard has again been hit by paving stone thieves.

St James' churchyard on Church Street, Haslingden, was targeted on Wednesday August 21 at around 9pm.

CCTV from the churchyard shows the thieves, who used a white van to transport the stones, taking around 10 flagstones.

Father David Stephenson, who leads the congregation at the church, said: "We only discovered they had gone on Tuesday morning, when one of the maintenance men alerted us to it.

"We went back through our CCTV and found that between 9pm and 9.15pm last Wednesday, two men using a white van lifted and removed approximately 10 flagstones from the east end of the church."

St James' had flags stolen around 18 months ago, and at the end of July, St Thomas Musbury church in Helmshore, where Father Stephenson also preaches, was also targeted by thieves, who stole around 13 flagstones, leaving the paths unsafe and unsuitable for wheelchair users and pushchairs.

Father Stephenson added: "This theft has again left trip hazards but has also destroyed part of our heritage.

"The flagstones are as old as the church itself, but it's not just flagstones, some of them, we think were part of old family gravestones.

"We can see from our CCTV that a number of people walking through the churchyard saw these two men with their white van and our flags.

"We've told the police and shared our CCTV footage with them and are hoping that there may be some other footage from other properties in Haslingden that captures the van leaving the churchyard or travelling towards it.

"If you saw anything then please do get in touch with either us or the police."

Father Stephenson said it was disappointing and he has been left devastated.

He said: "The church has been here since 1284 and it contains the stories of so many people and is valued and honoured by many people in the town.

"We are devastated but it's more the upset caused to the community. It's going to cost a lot of money to repair, money that could've been used for greater good within Haslingden."

Anyone with any information should contact the police on 101 quoting log number 0922 of August 27.