MINDLESS "low lifes" have been breaking into churches on the beautiful North York Moors trying to steal cash and, in one case, trashing the interior.

Thugs caused between £300 and £400 damage to an antique table containing a cash draw at St Mary's Church in Lastingham, and it is unknown whether any money was stolen.

A money box was prised from a wall in the front entrance of Christ Church in Front Street, Appleton-le-Moors, and stolen.

Both incidents happened between 8pm on August 28 and 8pm on September 4.

At Rosedale Abbey, vandals lit candles, squashed them into the carpets and scattered and tore up note books and diaries on sale to the public between 4pm and 8pm on August 30.

PC John Tugwell of Malton Police Station said: "The churches like to keep their doors open so that the public can come in and it really is a very difficult situation. We don't want to tell them to keep them locked. This really is a very low-life thing to do."

Terry Sunderland, church treasurer at Appleton-le-Moors, said: "This is the third occasion this has happened in two years. Obviously, we don't know how much was taken, but the box is emptied every two to three days so there is never likely to be much in it."

He added: "It is a grade one listed building, and we get a lot of ramblers and walkers coming through the village who like to church and have a look. When it comes to looking after a church, every little helps, so we wouldn't want to stop having a collection box."

From the police files

Police are looking for an arsonist who destroyed £1,000s worth of hay bales in a blaze at Woodland Farm between Flaxton and Strensall at 8pm on Friday.

A blue hatch back was seen parked in the area, and police are appealing for any witnesses who saw the car, or anyone acting suspiciously in the area.

PC John Tugwell of Malton Police said: "We would also like to speak to the people in the blue hatchback, as we may need to eliminate them from our enquiries.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact PC 1434 Dibden, based at Malton Police Station, on 0854 6060247.

- A thief drove away with a green Kawasaki quad bike worth £5,000 from the Balloon Tree caf and farm shop in Gate Helmsley between 11am and 11.50am on Thursday.

A young man was seen on a similar bike on the A166 towards York. He was described as a dark-skinned European man, with short, black hair, of thin build, aged around 20.

"If anyone saw this man, or if he has nothing to do with the crime, we would like to know," said PC John Tugwell of Malton police.

- A woman's handbag containing hundreds of pounds was stolen from her car when she left it unattended in Malton yesterday.

Police said the handbag had been on the passenger seat of her car which she had left unlocked "for just a minute" in Sheepfoot Hill in the town. It had contained £840, he added.

CCTV camera footage is being examined in the hope of tracing the culprit.

- A thief cut out the rear window of a Renault Clio parked at Beacon Farm, Pickering, and stole a GT Moto Mountain bike worth £480 between 6pm on Thursday and 8am on Friday.

- A vandal caused £200 damage to an Audi A8 parked outside the Carlton Lodge Hotel on Bondgate, Helmsley, by scratching the paintwork, between 7pm on Thursday and 9.30am on Friday.

- Thugs caused £2,000 damage to a Kubota RTV900 4x4 vehicle by driving it into a plough at Russells Farm Machinery in Piercy End, Kirkbymoorside, between 12.15am and 12.30am on Saturday.

- A silver Zimmer mountain bike worth £450 was stolen from a Toyota pick-up truck parked on Westbourne Grove, Pickering, between 9am last Monday and 6pm on Friday. A man's silver Fisher Tourer pedal bike worth £200 was taken from Pickering Market Place at 12.30pm on Monday.

- Vandals caused £500 worth of damage to a Mini parked in Green Gate, Malton between September 3 and September 4. A sharp instrument had been used, said police to make deep scratches on the bodywork.

In another incident damage worth £70 was caused to a white Ford Escort van parked at Station Road, Helmsley, between 11pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday. The culprit broke the rear window.

- £200 of diesel was stolen from an HGV vehicle parked near Malton bacon factory on Saturday.

- A thug smashed a window at Threshers in Eastgate, Pickering, causing £200 damage, between 10.05pm on Monday and 8am on Tuesday.

- Diesel worth £200 was siphoned from a vehicle parked at Green's Potatoes on Norton Grove Industrial Estate in Norton between 2pm on Saturday and 8.15pm on Sunday.