CROOKS rampaged through a historic church looking for valuables after smashing their way in through a window.

Churchwarden Jenny Nicholls was met by a scene of devastation when she arrived to open St George’s Church in Great Bromley on Tuesday morning.

She found a fire extinguisher lying on the floor at the entrance and quickly discovered the building had been ransacked.

A safe had been taken from the vestry and carried outside, where it was thrown onto the grass.

Jenny said she had never seen anything like it before.

She said: “It is awful to come into a church and find it in this state .“This is a 15th-century Grade I-listed building – it is known as the Cathedral of the Tendring Hundred.

“It is a special place of which I am immensely proud.

I could have cried when I first discovered the break-in.”

She added: “They have rampaged through the church looking anywhere and everywhere for things to steal.

“They entered through a window, breaking one of the leaded glass windows at the back.

“They have gone through every possible area of the church – I don’t think they we re looking for any historical items in particular, they just wanted anything valuable.”

Jenny said a suspicious pair sitting in a blue Renault Laguna had been seen watching the church on Monday.

She said: “They were parked up for a while and even had a look round the back.

“Someone who was visiting a grave even came and knocked on my door to tell me about them.”

Jenny’s husband Fred is Tendring councillor for Great Bromley and the previous chairman of the council.

He said: “Here in Great Bromley and other rural areas we are totally exposed and we don’t get any help at all.

“When we reported this to police, we were told there wouldn’t be any one coming here and we should tidy the place up.

“We can only imagine how much this will cost in damage .

“I am shocked and very upset – this is despicable .”

An Essex Police spokeswoman said burglars had carried out a “messy” search of the church and smashed a mirror.

She said inquiries about the incident were “ongoing”.

Any one with information should call police on 101.