THIEVES have struck at a Hampshire church and left the future of a £2 million redevelopment project in jeopardy.

Church-goers at St Winfrid’s in Totton face a £23,000 bill to repair the building's roof, after it was raided for lead.

As a result, the church has been forced to pull the plug on plans to convert the building into a new community hub.

The Reverend Chris Steed, who has led the church for three years, said: “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

“We’ve just given the go-ahead for our architects for the next stage of the project but we’ve had to postpone it for now.

“We are gutted because lots of time and hard work has gone into this project.”

The church had planned for a major revamp of the inside of the building, to promote its use by community art and music projects.

Proposals also include creating a cafe at the front of the church, which faces out onto Salisbury Road.

The idea of the project was to promote community inclusion in a bid to combat what church-goers say is a growing national problem with loneliness.

But project manager, Lynn Black, says the church will now have to divert its already limited funds to repair the roof.

Mrs Black, 53, said: “We believe the thieves stole around £30,000, but the sad part is we’ve been told they might only get around £1,000 for it.

“The insurance company says they will only cover up to £7,500 so we’ve got to find that extra £20,000 from somewhere.

“We could only just about afford to go on with the project so we’ve had put the project on hold.

“It’s taken a lot of faith, and not just in the religious sense, because a lot of hard work has gone into this project over the last two or three years.”

Asked what she thought of the thieves, she said: “I think they are selfish.”

Alongside the roof repair, the church may also have to foot a further bill to fix the electrics after water began leaking through a two metre hole, caused by the thieves pulling at the lead.

Mrs Black, a mother of four, added: “It’s a real shame because we rent out the building to groups.

“That’s one of the ways we raise our money and it will be difficult with a lot of our electrics not working.”

Despite this, Reverend Steed has vowed not to give up.

He said: “It won’t stop us, but we are looking for any help and support.”

Police have confirmed they are investigating the theft.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Constabulary said: “We are investigating the theft of lead from the roof of St Winfrid’s Church on Salisbury Road in Totton which occurred between December 6 and December 13.

WIf anyone has any information about this incident they should contact Hampshire Constabulary by calling 101 and quoting crime reference number 44170483644.”