A deacon had her handbag stolen from the vestry of a village church while she was giving a service.

The Rev Sarah Jones, of Tower Hill, Witney, was holding the service with a colleague on Mother's Day at Holy Trinity Church, Finstock.

Rev Sarah Jones The church is visited by tourists because of its connection to two famous authors -- TS Eliot was baptised as an adult there in 1927, and novelist Barbara Pym, who lived in the village, is buried in the churchyard.

The main doors are out of use while building work is carried out, so congregations are using a door leading through the vestry instead.

After Mrs Jones and the Rev Brian Ford had given the service last Sunday, they discovered thieves had taken her bag containing cash and a hand-held PC, and Mr Ford's mobile phone.

Mrs Jones, 47, said: "It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth, and that it happened on Mothers' Day seems to add to it.

"If it had been stolen on the bus, it would be one thing, but to steal it while I'm giving a service feels so much worse. The bag was a Christmas present and so was the purse.

"I had a hand-held PC and about £40 and all the usual cards and quite a few personal things like a pair of earrings and a bottle of perfume someone gave me when I was ordained."

Mrs Jones also works as a nurse at Windrush Health Centre in Witney. She was ordained as a deacon by the Rt Rev Richard Harries, the Bishop of Oxford, at Christ Church Cathedral last September, and serves curacies in Ramsden, Leafield, Finstock and Wilcote.

She said: "I haven't heard of anything like this happening before at the church, and I would have thought there was very little crime in Finstock."

Diocesan spokesman, the Rev Richard Thomas, said theft from churches in Oxfordshire was an ongoing problem. He said: "It's rather unusual when it happens during a service, but it's a problem, there's no doubt about it.

"Thieving from churches tends to be either opportunistic, when the doors are open, or the planned theft of furniture or valuables when the church is closed."