CALLOUS thieves have struck at Selby Abbey for the second time in two weeks.

Once again a war memorial window has been smashed, with thieves escaping with less than £5.

The raid was described as "soul-destroying" by the vicar, the Rev Keith Jukes, who returned from a two-week holiday to discover shattered glass on the floor of the 10th century Norman abbey.

The thieves climbed on to a low roof before smashing the stained glass window with a crow bar and dropping down into the church to pilfer from collection boxes.

The windows will cost about £30,000 to repair, although Mr Jukes admitted "they will never be the same again".

"I just want to weep. I can't begin to imagine what those who fought for our country would be thinking about all this."