Thieves try to sell stolen communion wine

Burglars who broke into a St Margaret's Church in Gorebridge, Midlothian, tried to sell the communion wine they had stolen.

During the raid at the 104-year-old church in Lady Brae a number of religious artifacts were stolen.

Police recovered the property worth nearly £5,000 from a pawn brokers in time for the Christmas services.

It is believed that the thieves were looking for £10,000 that had been raised at a garden fete for charity.

Canon Hugh White told the Edinburgh Evening News: "They removed the protective coverings from a window and smashed through the glass so they could climb into the sacristy. That room was locked so they could go no further.

"They tried to move the safe, but it was obviously too heavy and couldn't be opened. Bottles of altar wine and items of worship were taken from a cupboard.

"Whoever broke in must have cut themselves on the glass because there were pools of blood all over the place.

"The bottles were all marked 'for use in communion services'."

Items stolen included a gold-plated 16 inch monstrance, a vessel used to display the Eucharistic host, worth nearly £3,000. Gold plates, a holy water holder, a communion set and candle snuffers were also taken.

Mr White added: "Everyone was very helpful and pulled together after it happened. A glazier was kind enough to come straight out to fix the window. Obviously this is a busy time of year at the church so I could do without these kind of incidents.

"You begin to think that nothing is sacred anymore.

"We were delighted that the police were able to recover our property before the services.

Police have arrested two men have been arrested in connection with the incident and are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday.