‘Thou shalt not steal’ painting stolen from village church

Warden urges thief to ‘develop a conscience’ and return murals to Grade II-listed parish church. A church warden has urged a thief who swiped a painting of the Ten Commandments, containing the directive “Thou shalt not steal”, to return the artwork.

Three Victorian murals were taken from the wall from the Grade II-listed St Andrew's Church in an overnight raid in the sleepy parish of Little Steeping, Lincolnshire, before 23 February. The paintings, all in heavy wooden frames, depict The Lord's Prayer and Moses giving the commandments and could fetch £300 each on an open market.

The church warden fears the thief posed as a visitor during daylight open hours and unlocked a side door so they could sneak back in overnight. Dirty footmarks left on the carpet provide the only clue to the suspected raider who also made off with an extension cable.

Church warden Basil Harwood told The Independent: “Isn’t it ironic? One of the murals was the Ten Commandments which says ‘Thou shalt not steal’. It’s absolutely crazy. “It’s disturbing someone can come in and take something of a sacred nature.”.

The warden believes the burglary could be linked to another church theft in nearby St Mary’s, West Keal last week which saw vandals snatch a tapestry, burn a sign and smash a crucifix. Police are yet to link the church raids. Mr Harwood added: “We are lucky in that nothing has been destroyed. There were other items lying around that could also have been taken.

“It seems they came in during opening hours and removed a security bar to another door that is rarely used and hidden behind a curtain. “The only clue is dirty footprints left in the carpeted areas that definitely weren’t there before.”. Addressing the church raider directly: “Please have the common decency to return them to where they came from - undamaged.

“I hope they develop a conscience and then maybe they want to do something about it.”. He said he was determined to keep the church open to visitors throughout the day despite the thefts because “it is the right thing to do”. “We have to be more vigilant at certain times, especially when we go to lock up. But we are determined to keep our faith strong despite these annoyances,” he said.

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said it is not clear when the theft took place before it was discovered by cleaners on Sunday, 23 February. He said: “There were no signs of damage caused to the church itself. “If you know where they might be, or have seen them for sale or offered in another way on social media sites such as Facebook Marketplace, please get in touch with the details you have.