UPDATE: St Mary's Church's Votive Candle Holder returned!

After being targeted by thieves who stole their valuable candle holder, Horncastle’s parish church has thanked the public as the item has been found – just hours after the appeal was shared.

St Mary’s Church’s Votive Candle Holder was stolen over the weekend (April 15-16), with an appeal for information relating to the theft of the black-coloured, wrought iron,1m high candle holder shared yesterday (Wednesday) on social media and on our website.

But just hours after the appeal went out, at lunchtime, the church received a call to say that the candle holder had been spotted in some bushes around the back of Horncastle Pool & Fitness Suite.

Unfortunately, the candle holder has been damaged as it also has a built-in coin box for donations, which had been prised open and an unknown quantity of money had been taken.

A spokesman for the church said: “We’re so grateful to the person who saw it and was looking out for it, it just goes to show the power of social media.

"Unfortunately the candle holder has been damaged, but at least we’ve got it back which is the main thing.

"The community has really got behind us to help share the appeal and get it back, to know that people have been looking out for us, it does really warm our hearts.”

This comes just months after donation money was stolen from the church in September, which saw the church install CCTV cameras in a bid to deter thieves.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “Anyone with any information can call us on on 101 quoting crime number 23000229162, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/”