WORSHIPPERS were left in tears after discovering vandals had desecrated their church by spraying it with dry powder from a fire extinguisher.

Services at St Andrew's Church, in Bishopthorpe, had to be moved elsewhere after powder meant to put out electrical fires was sprayed throughout the nave area on Easter Monday.

Pews, hymn books and carpets were covered in the substance and a professional cleaning firm took three days to clear it up because of the extent of the mess. The culprits are believed to have walked backwards as they sprayed so no footprints were left in the powder which could identify them.

The vicar of St Andrew's, the Rev Chris Coates, said witnesses had seen two youths milling about at the church prior to the attack.

"They made a terrible mess," he said. "The church was filled with the powder and it's still quite dusty now."

Mr Coates said the church hall was being used to conduct services while the mess was cleared up and a funeral had to be moved to Holy Trinity Church, in Acaster Malbis. "We had a full church on Easter Sunday and it was beautifully decorated," he said.

"On the Monday it was destroyed, and people couldn't go in and enjoy the Easter flowers. Our cleaner was in tears over it."

Mr Coates, who has been at St Andrew's since 2002, said they were now considering installing CCTV cameras at the church because they still wanted to keep it open during the day.

He said: "I felt very annoyed - it's just stupid."

Churchwarden Peter Channing, 73, of Bishopthorpe, said the £500 cost of the damage would be met by insurers. "I'm just appalled these people have done this," he said. "The church was absolutely covered in dust."

Martin Sheppard, the spokesman for the York Diocese, said: "This sort of thing is upsetting for everyone.

"There are 600 churches in this diocese and vandalism is always going on somewhere."

Anyone with information about the vandalism at St Andrew's should phone York police on 0845 60 60 247.

Updated: 08:30 Monday, May 01, 2006