The Christmas spirit at a local church was well and truly burnt out after a beloved nativity scene was set on fire by vandals.

In the early hours of New Year’s Day, a firework was set off inside the outdoor Nativity scene at St Bartholomew’s Church in Vesta Avenue, St Albans.

At around 2.45am, a passerby phoned Father Tim Edgar, who went to the scene with the emergency services.

Tim said: “After the fire went out I was sure they were going to say it was an electrical fault, which I knew it wouldn’t be as there were so many circuit breakers, but they didn’t; they told me it was a firework.”

The priest estimates that a minimum of £600/700 worth of damage has been caused by the vandalism, of which there are currently no witnesses.

He explained: “A wise man lost a head, and the donkey had a crack in its neck, but hopefully it will be back for next Christmas.

“People were really upset by this and we even had some children in tears.

“It’s really loved in the community; we have people stop to come and look every year, I cant understand why someone would do this.”

The church have chosen not to officially report the incident to the police, and therefore no investigation is taking place.