A knife has been found at a church following a burglary which saw equipment, fuel and children’s toys taken and a storage shed badly damaged.

Staff at St Martin’s in Herne arrived on Wednesday morning (October 15) to find two structures on the church grounds broken into.

Peter Frost, who looks after the site, described the incident as “ridiculous”.

“All we do is try to work for the community and keep this place open and this time of year we have a lot of events - the undertakers have services here, local school sing carols here,” he said.

“It doesn’t entice people when you say you’ve found a knife at the front of the church and we’ve been broken into - it impacts the community and the church family.

“It just seems ridiculous that they’ve come and stolen from a church.”

Burglars ripped one side of one of the sheds apart, while another saw its doors smashed in half.

Mr Frost says two lawnmowers, a jet washer, gardening tools, petrol and toys intended for charity were among the items stolen sometime between last Sunday and Wednesday morning.

But the 62-year-old was perturbed to find a blade lying near the church’s front entrance, but encouraged by how the local community have responded.

“The knife is very concerning, it was found outside the front of the church, by one of the large trees, a kitchen knife about seven inches long.”

“Since this happened, we’ve had two people come forward with offers to donate lawnmowers, so it’s nice to see the community coming together.”

Police are investigating the incident but say there is currently no evidence to link the knife to the burglary.

A spokesperson added: “Kent Police is investigating a report of a burglary at St Martin’s Church, Herne.

“It is believed multiple sheds were broken into with items reportedly stolen.

“Anyone with information should contact Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting 46/178539/25.”