A MINISTER today slammed thieves who ransacked his chapel for the fourth time this year and said: "I can't forgive them."

The gang stripped expensive speakers and even snatched charity cash collected in aid of starving children from historic Bank Street Chapel, Bolton.

It is the fourth time in seven months that the chapel has been broken into.

Now insurance premiums have rocketed and the self-funding chapel has been forced to pay out more than £1,000 in excess payments.

Today Rev Tony McNeile, who has been in charge at the chapel for seven years, said: "It's silly to say 'we understand what you have done and we forgive you' because we don't.

"I can forgive them when they have been caught and have paid their debt to society. That's where my forgiveness comes in.

"This seems to be a growing problem. We're self-funding and we use money for the benefit of the community. That is now being diverted to insurance premiums and excess payments of £250 on every claim.

"As minister of the chapel, I'm disappointed that all we have gained through our busy fund-raising programme is lost in a single night."

The minister of Bolton's first non-conformist chapel, which dates from 1672, plans to write to Home Secretary Jack Straw, voicing his concerns about the level of crime suffered by the town's churches.

He said: "As a congregation, we are all saddened that our break-ins become a statistic and there seems little prospect of the villains ever being caught.

"All of us appreciate the difficulties facing the police. They don't seem to have enough resources to deal with petty crime."

Cleaners discovered the latest break-in last week. The vestry door had been forced and speakers and loose change collected for the UNICEF Jars of Grace appeal had been stolen.

Radios, CD players and cut glass vases were also taken with the total bill value estimated at £3,000.

The theft comes despite the £2,000 spent on extra security in the chapel.

It is believed the gang had sneaked into the chapel during a coffee morning on Thursday, hiding away before ransacking the chapel later that night.

Chief Insp Alan Greene said: "It's unfortunate people think the police take little interest in petty crime because we're extremely successful in catching criminals."

Last December, vandals hurled bricks at the ornate stained glass windows, which were protected with toughened glass.

And in 1998, arsonists set fire to nativity figures on display in Market Street, Farnworth.

Church of England diocesan bosses have admitted attacks and thefts in the town's churches were becoming commonplace.

Geoff Hutchinson, property secretary for the Manchester diocese of the Church of England, said: "It's a fact of life that, where the church has ceased to be that prominent place, it does not matter to these people who break-in."