World War One tribute chalice stolen at Northampton church

A chalice donated to a church by a mother and father in memory of their son who was killed in World War One has been stolen.

The silverware was taken from All Saints' Church, Northampton, on Thursday.

On the base of the chalice there was an inscription which said the man was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, the church said.

The Reverend Oliver Coss said it was an "opportunistic" theft.

The chalice and a paten (a small plate) were stolen ahead of one of the church's daily 12:30 services.

Mr Coss said the thief struck when the servers went into the vestry "for 30 seconds".

He said the chalice was "precious" to the church.

He said: "We have just finished our commemorations of World War One and we'll be thinking about the signing of the peace treaty in 1919.

"It's just awful to think that one of our artefacts given in memory of someone who served with great courage at the Battle of Passchendaele and never came home has gone walkabouts."