Thieves broke into property at a historic church and stole clothing and jars of foreign coins.

The office, choir room and thrift shop at St. Peter's Church, in St. George's, were burgled between 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday.

According to Reverend David Raths the thief, or thieves, got away with clothing from the thrift shop and foreign coins handed in as donations over the years, but did not break into the church itself, which is highly protected by an alarm system, he said.

"St. Peter's is the number one tourist attraction of Bermuda and the oldest Protestant Church in the New World. It is very special to all of us here and to many Bermudians so we are very happy no damage was done to the church."

Rev. Raths said the culprits broke in through the office window and while there was some minor damage it was "nothing too serious".

He added: "It is very upsetting and it is extremely inconveniencing. Every drawer has been gone into. I do not know what they thought they would find in them."

It was the first burglary since Rev. Raths took over as reverend five years ago. However, there have been several occasions where vandals have attacked gravestones on the site, dislodging stones dating back to 1854.

The Reverend asked for the public to take heed of "anyone that comes along with a pocket full of foreign coins".

The coins come from countries including Canada, England, parts of the Caribbean and Europe. There were also old $1 and $2 Bermuda bills.

He also encouraged people in need to visit the thrift shop during open hours on Saturday, rather than stealing.

The thrift shop in the back lane receives donated clothing and sells them for a "pittance" to cover expenses, he said. "It is certainly used a lot by the local people. We can give the (items) away if there is need."

A Police spokesperson said: "Around 8:10 a.m. on Thursday, Police received a report of a burglary at St. Peter's Church, in St. George's.

"It appears that sometime between 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday an unknown culprit gained entry into the premises and stole a quantity of cash."

Anyone with information on the theft are asked to contact Police on 295-0011.