Vandals have climbed onto a church roof and smashed an ancient memorial cross costing hundreds of pounds to replace.

Church warden Brian Gill discovered the prestigious silver cross, which stood on the roof of St Oswald's Church, in Guiseley, lying smashed on the floor.

The distraught warden made the discovery last Thursday morning when he visited the church.

"I think it must have been done last Wednesday night," he said.

"It will cost hundreds of pounds to replace. It has been there since the church was built. It was a war memorial all the names of people were inside it.

"Now it is all smashed on the floor, it is absolutely terrible what these people have done.

"We will have to call the stone mason, but I don't think there is any chance it will be repairable because they have smashed it into small pieces.

"To do this someone had to climb onto the roof and push it off, but it weighed about 300 pounds, it would have taken a few people to do it, to do this is abominable."

The church has suffered a spate of vandalism attacks since a week last Saturday, when a group of youths were seen in the church yard smashing a window and ripping the lock off the church shed.

In February this year the church had a series of thefts of its Yorkshire stone slabs and threatened to sell them all before the vandals had chance to take them.

Sections of the churchyard and a whole path were dug up and stones taken in the last two years in six separate raids.

Anyone with information about the vandalism should contact Weetwood Police Station on (0113) 2413459.