VANDALS struck at a North Cornwall church last Thursday, severely damaging cherished items, including a medieval prayer stool. The vandals painted a moustache on the banner of Tintagel's St Materiana's Church. The banner has been in the clifftop building since before the second world war. A large painting, which used to be the backdrop of the chapel at Treknow and was recently restored by Alan Sargeant, was scratched in a number of places, as was another painting. But the most serious damage was done to a medieval bishop's prayer stool. The vandals sawed off the very small hands from the carved figures on each arm of the chair. The Rev Michael Parsons said: "Hopefully, we can repair the paintings and banner but we don't see how the prayer stool can be repaired. "We actually found the hands in the town, but the saw used was broad and when we tried to put them back there was a big gap and they just didn't fit. "That is part of the community's heritage and it is upsetting for everyone. "On the positive side the church is used by huge numbers of people and this is the first time over the years we've had serious damage. "It is used as a place of quiet and prayer and we don't want to take that away." The cost of the damage is not known at this stage but Mr Parsons believes it is 'hundreds if not thousands' of pounds.