A PENSIONER has hit out at thieves who stole jars of marmalade from a church and then spread jam around the building.

The marmalade, which is usually left unsupervised inside Holy Trinity Church in Seer Green, so passing customers can take a jar and leave a donation, is now having to be kept under lock and key.

Muriel Ward, a resident of Seer Green for the past 40 years, who makes the marmalade, said: "If I could speak to the people that did this I would just have to ask why?

"What kind of kick do they get out of doing this? It makes me so angry."

She added: "I have always found Seer Green to be an exceedingly good place to live. It's a splendid village with a wonderful spirit.

"When I first moved here, no one bothered about locking doors and windows. Now you wouldn't dream of leaving the door open."

Much to the disappointment of customers, sales of the marmalade now only take place on Sundays and at coffee mornings when they can be overseen, following the theft last month.

Margaret McAnuff, a member of the church, said: "This was an unfortunate incident, but it's the kind of thing that I have almost come to expect. The church doors are always open, so I am surprised that it hasn't happened before."

Mrs Ward suggested that perhaps the best way to deal with thieves would be to publish pictures of them in the papers, and make their parents responsible.