"An Easter egg means nothing in the grand scheme of things as an adult, but for a child on the Easter holidays, it’s a lot."
Around 100 Easter eggs donated for vulnerable children have been stolen during a break-in at a church in Sunderland.
Thieves targeted Bethany City Church during the early hours of Saturday morning, shattering a window to enter the building.
They made off with three trays of chocolate eggs, which had been donated for children earlier in the week, before later returning to the premises to steal a TV.
Northumbria Police are investigating the break-in, with the thieves caught on CCTV.
"It was really sad," Daniel Alcock, one of the church pastors is quoted as saying to the
Sunderland Echo.
"We only just got donated 220 Easter eggs on Tuesday earlier this week.
"Going into the Easter holiday weekend, this is a time when we fill up the children’s parcels with chocolate treats.
"An Easter egg means nothing in the grand scheme of things as an adult, but for a child on the Easter holidays, it’s a lot. We can’t get our heads around it."
He added: "Obviously, we are a church, it’s a religious building and a spiritual home to many in that sense.
"But also, we do so much work for the community there, be it the soup kitchen, be it the food bank, be it work with asylum seekers or refugees, be it general church stuff.
"To see such a public community centre just vandalised is very sad."
