An 80-year-old brother has been left “devastated” after thieves stole his catalytic converter during a late-night raid on holy grounds.

The crooks struck under the cover of Storm Eunice and used a saw to prise the device from the car, a Honda Jazz, on Friday night.

A second Honda Jazz belonging to another brother was also targeted by the villains during what seemed to be a coordinated attack on The Hospital of St Cross car park.

Brother John Rodney DeMussenden Leathes, one of 16 brothers living at the medieval Winchester almshouse, returned to his car to discover the damage the next morning.

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He said: “I parked here on the Friday, and they must have cut it off using a battery-operated saw overnight, at least that’s what the garage said. But of course, with all the noise from the storm they were able to do my car and another brother’s car, too.”

This isn’t the first time Brother John has been hit by thieves, either. Just last year, crooks forced open the door of his vintage Berlingo van before dumping it a few streets away.

The damage was so extensive it was written off by the insurance company.

He’s also had two tricycles stolen from the hospital, while his fellow brothers have similarly been blighted by opportunist thieves during their tenure.

“I’m now on my third tricycle and fourth car in a year, so I’m not doing terribly well,” he said.

“Sadly, we’ve also had number plates taken and cars broken into and damaged in this car park. You can’t be wealthy if you live here, I can only afford to live at St Cross because I get housing benefit, as do several other brothers. We’re on state pension and not much else, so it’s difficult to deal with these things when they happen.”

With the help of his close friend, Barbi Colson, Brother John, who is a retired tailor and dressmaker, recently spent £250 having a towbar fitted to his car. He often uses the vehicle to help his friends and fellow brothers run errands by taking them on outings or to the shops.

“I offer a taxi service for anyone who wants or needs it, including some of the shopping for a few of the elderly brothers who aren’t perhaps as mobile,” he said.

“We do also have a fantastic arrangement where the hospital organises for us to go to Sainsbury's every Thursday, but we’ve got brothers who like to shop at other places which aren’t easy to get to, so I help them with that. I don’t mind and it’s fun to do. It's a very good car, and I've enjoyed driving it for the two months I've had it."

Officers came out to see Brother John, who's been at St Cross for 12 years, on Sunday, but owing to a lack of CCTV or witnesses, their hopes of catching the thieves are currently dwindling.

The hospital has since said it is planning to install extra security measures in the car park to help snare any returning offenders.

Brother John, has also contacted his insurance company, but it looks increasingly likely that his vehicle is once again heading for the scrapyard due to the cost of repair.

However, Barbi has since set up a JustGiving page in a bid to raise the necessary funds to pay for a private repair and save the car.

So far, a whopping £1,140 has been donated, a response which Brother John has described as “amazing”.

He said: “Originally, I didn’t know anything about it. I talked to Barbi because we’re close friends and she asked whether I would mind if she set one up and I agreed, not knowing what to expect. But the response since then has been absolutely amazing, I’m incredibly grateful.”

If you want to donate to Brother John’s page, you can do so at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/brotherjohn?utm_term=deXeEm5Qd.

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