The police are investigating a theft of cash from an offertory box at the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel  in Valletta.

Sources close to the police told Times of Malta that the theft was reported to the police at around 6am when the person who usually opens the church found the cash missing.

Although items inside the church are still being checked, it is believed that only the cash from the offertory box was stolen.

A spokesman for the police confirmed that there had been a break-in. Sources said the thief or thieves gain entry to the basilica from an adjacent building. Inside the sacristy, the police found many items scattered on the floor, indicating that the thief or thieves were looking for something more valuable than the cash which was eventually stolen.