The endemic problem of thieves stealing lead from church roofs has forced one church to abandon the carol service it had planned to hold in its own church this year.

St Mary's church in Woodnesborough, near Sandwich has been forced to move its service to St James The Great Church in Staple after rain leaked through the roof and damaged the church organ.

The church warden, Jan Galbraith said, "We discovered when we had a great torrential downpour that some people had stolen the lead from our beautiful church, and we had a deluge of rain come in.

"Some rain has unfortunately caused damage to the organ which has got water inside. We cannot use it until it dries out naturally, and then we shall have to see how much damage is there," reports the BBC.

The church is now using plastic sheets, newspapers and buckets in order to combat the effects of the rain. It is estimated that the cost of replacing the tiles will be as much as £55,000.

Gilbraith said, "We are a small parish and we rely very much on our growing congregation to pay for the needs of the church, but unfortunately keeping thieves going is not one of the things they expect to pay for.

"We have been in talks with the diocese, and the committee says we may replace [the lead], on a short-term basis, with good quality felt and this would last up to 15 years," reports the BBC.