VANDALS have stolen Christmas tree lights that were placed on a tree outside a church as a memorial to loved ones who have died.

Half of the 120 lights on the tree put up by the South Bucks Day Hospice at St Francis of Assisi Church in Amersham Road, High Wycombe, were stolen just days after the tree was kicked over and damaged.

The charity has now been forced to turn off the remaining lights, disappointing the 75 people who paid a minimum of £5 for a light to remember someone special this Christmas.

The hospice, in Amersham Road, runs the Lights of Love scheme every Christmas and invites people and businesses to sponsor a light in memory of a someone who has died. Lights can also be dedicated to the living.

Proceeds from the scheme go towards helping the hospice care for people with serious illnesses.

Ann Webb paid £20 for four lights to commemorate her late husband, sister, father and mother-in-law.

She said: "I find it a bit senseless that people would feel the need to steal the lights. I feel that in this day and age people should be showing a little bit more respect."

And Stella Vaughan, of High Wycombe, wife of the late entertainer Frankie, expressed her anger. Her husband had been involved with the charity in the past.

She told the Free Press: "I think what has happened is disgraceful. It is awful I cannot think what goes through the minds of the people who do this sort of thing."

She now plans to donate £50 to the charity towards the cost of replacement lights.

The light switchingon ceremony took place on December 8 with all those who have sponsored a light receiving a certificate.

But at the weekend the tree was pushed over. It was put back up again only for the lights to be stolen.

Val Weston, community liaison office with South Bucks Day Hospice, said: "Lights of Love is a very special event for the hospice and it means a lot to us but this year it has been ruined by these mindless vandals.

"It also means a lot to the people who sponsor because it is in remembrance of someone who is dear to their heart. The people who have stolen the lights have just not thought about what they are doing and what the effect of their actions will have on other people."

Tony Dickinson, vicar of St Francis of Assisi Church, said: "To deprive people of their tributes to lost loved ones is a very cruel thing to do. I think it is very sad because this is a tree lit up in memory of people who have died and someone thinks it is a joke to remove all the bulbs from it."

Workers at the hospice are now attempting to replace the tree lights.