Congregation in the dark over theft of church lights

Police are hunting thieves who have stolen light bulbs and their protective cages from a church in East Lothian.

It is thought it will cost Dunbar Parish Church up to 300 to replace the halogen lights and the wire mesh fittings.

Reverend Gordon Stevenson, who has been minister at the church for the past ten months, said it was "pretty sad" for anyone to steal from a church.

He said: "I was taking a funeral on Monday when one of the ground staff told me about the lights going missing. We're not quite sure when the theft took place but I believe it was in the last three weeks.

"Three lights have gone along with their cages which were screwed into the ground, so it must have taken a bit of effort to steal them. I used to be in the trade and I would imagine it will cost about 300 to replace everything.

"We are now looking into installing CCTV because this isn't the first time we've had items stolen or vandalised."