Church leaders have spoken of their disappointment after raiders broke in and caused £1,000 worth of damage.

St Mary’s Church, on Church Street, Maldon, was targeted by would-be thieves who smashed through a fire door at the back of the building.

While searching its function room, they damaged a locked cabinet containing Fairtrade cereals, chocolates and jams before fleeing empty-handed.

“Disappointed” Father John Dickens, of St Mary’s Church, said it was a shame the church was targeted, given the service it provides to the community.

He said: “We discovered that they got into the function room and tried to open a cabinet that only contained Fairtrade goods we sell on a Sunday.

“We were disappointed that people would see the church as a target because it’s here for the community and things like this could potentially spoil it.

“Of course, we don’t keep anything of value on the premises but we are considering upping the security.

“I don’t think it was professional burglars because it all seemed quite disorganised.

“The door is going to cost more than £1,000 to replace because it’s a special oak door.

“Because the building is in a special conservation area we had to build it out of special and fairly expensive materials – this is part of the problem.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Thieves forced entry to the building by smashing the glass in the fire doors at sometime between 4pm on Wednesday, November 4 and 5.15pm the next day.

“Once inside they searched the cupboards and removed foodstuffs but nothing was believed to have been stolen.

“Anyone who saw any suspicious behaviour in the area at the relevant time is asked to call Essex Police on 101 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”