HEARTLESS thieves targeted two village churches to steal poppy collection boxes collected by parishioners.

Police are appealing for as much information as possible about the callous thefts, which took place in Tarporley earlier this month.

One happened at St Thomas Becket Catholic Church on November 8 when the church, which is usually left open for worshippers to go in and pray, was targeted by crooks who smashed open a poppy appeal box and stole the cash inside.

And in the other incident, which took place sometime between October 25 and November 13, thieves entered St Helen’s Church on Tarporley High Street and made off with the charity box full of donations for the Royal British Legion.

Police say they currently have no leads but suspect both thefts happened on the same day, and are keen to speak to anyone who was near either of the churches on that date.

PC Martin Walsh from Cheshire police said: “As the thefts are both from churches, it would be reasonable to assume that both thefts occurred on the same day.

“We currently have no substantial leads but if you were near either of these churches on this date, we are anxious to know if you saw anyone suspicious in the area.

“There was a spate of this type of theft about 12 months ago when thieves broke into a church office in Tarvin and stole a cheque,” he added.

“The man guilty of that crime has since been imprisoned and does not have anything to do with these particular crimes.

“We would urge anyone who might be able to provide us with some more information to contact us on the non-emergency police number 101.”

A spokesperson for the Royal British Legion said: “We are saddened to hear of the theft of a poppy collecting tin.

“This loss will deprive those in the Service and ex-Service community and their families of much needed assistance and support from the Legion.”