The writing in green paint was on the north wall

Officials at St James' Church saw references from the bible written in green paint when they went to the building on Friday morning.

Cleaners have spent the day trying to remove the graffiti from the church which dates back to the late 12th century.

One parishioner said: "I can't believe anybody would do something like this."

And another added: "It's disgusting. People should respect things a bit more."

Busy area

But Canon Michael Hunter said he would not let the incident get him down.

He said: "I'm not particularly upset because it has happened before.

"A bit of paint of the stonework which hopefully can be removed is not going to put me off my stride."

Police want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious on Thursday night or on Friday morning.

Detective Inspector Paul Cunningham said: "It's quite a busy area even on a night time with people passing through.

"I can't imagine someone hasn't seen something."