Police are hunting vandals who desecrated a Perthshire church.
A gang of thugs broke into the historic Blackford Parish Church and ran amok inside, causing extensive damage.
The church pulpit was toppled over and a christening font was broken. Communion glass were smashed and Bibles and other books were also found scattered across the building.
It is understood they also tried to force open a safe.
Worshippers were turned away from the 19th-century building on Sunday when they arrived for morning service.
Police forensic teams have been scouring for clues inside, while officers are carrying out door-to-door inquiries.
It is not clear how the vandals got into the building, but neighbours reported lights on inside the church just after midnight.
The church will be out of action for at least a few days, but one elder said it could be several weeks before it is back to normal.
Local councillor Anne Gaunt said: “This is very sad news.
“My friend is a member of the congregation and she called me about it this morning. She said they couldn’t get inside because the police investigation was under way.
“Its just really shocking. We don’t have a big problem with vandalism in this area, so it makes incidents like this even more upsetting.”
Minister Mairi Perkins said: “The police are investigating now, so I don’t want to say too much more at this stage. We’re still trying to work out what happened.”
Church elder Willie McLaren said: “It seems they attempted to break into the safe but didn’t manage to get in.
“The pulpit was pushed over and damaged and the christening font was broken.
“It was just discovered this morning and the minister was in tears when people turned up to attend the service. We usually get 30 to 40 folk every week.”
Mr McLaren added: “We’re told it’ll be two or three months before we’ll be able to use the church again.”
Investigators have urged any witnesses to get in touch.
The Parish Church dates back to 1859. It was built to replace the town’s Old Church.
The building is known for its spectacular stained glass windows, which are dedicated to Boer War soldier George Ramsay McGibbon.
The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009 and a yew tree was planted in the grounds to commemorate the milestone.
