THIEVES who broke into St Luke's Church in Grimethorpe have caught by police patrolling the area.

The two men, who were also seen on CCTV, sneaked in through the fire exit as rock band The Skollies left their practice session at about 8.15pm last Thursday.

They hid in the dark until the group had left and stole six brass candlesticks, a silver candelabra and silver tray, an incense boat and the flag of St Luke outside.

The police found them carrying the stolen items, which they said they had found in a skip, nearby about two hours later.

Fr Peter Needham said: "I was there at about 8pm and everything was fine and then the police knocked on my door to see if anything was missing from the church. "They opened the boot and there was all our stuff. I'm just so glad the police were there, I was dancing up and down with joy."

Fr Peter found the silver tray and candelabra and the church flag in grass on Elizabeth Street and the space heater outside.

He added: "If they had taken the space heater we would have had no means whatsoever of heating the building. I've not tried it yet to see if it still works but it might be damaged but well done to the police."