They then entered an office and stole money which had been collected for the children in Swaziland.

The callous thieves even stole bags of pennies collected to raise money for Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) in Kinross.

Reverend Canon Joe Morrow said he had been left appalled by the selfishness and cruelty.

“To steal from a church is low but to take food out of the mouths of these youngsters is even worse,” he said.

“It is just despicable. It appears that whoever is responsible has come in on either Saturday or Sunday night.

“We discovered the break-in this morning and although we accept it was maybe a bit silly to leave the money in the church, it is just beyond belief.”

Last year, the church’s congregation agreed to pay £1000 a year to help pay for a refuge for Swaziland’s children orphaned by HIV and Aids for the next five years.

Around 40% of Swaziland’s adult population has HIV and children whose parents have died of the disease are often left to fend for themselves as other family members cannot afford to look after them.

The money raised by the congregation pays for a weekend refuge where orphans are given food, shelter, clothing, education and medical treatment.

The fundraising programme was managed by Gillian Millar and Angela Kilby who were both intending to travel to Swaziland in June to hand over the money, as well as clothing and toys that had been collected.

A heartbroken Gillian said, “We had almost completed our fund-raising for this year.

“There was a photo album of the children in Swaziland in the cupboard next to the money so they would have seen that and known what the money was for.

“There was a service in the church on Thursday morning and the women there collect bags of pennies for CHAS in Kinross and they even took those,” she added.

A spokesman for Tayside Police said, “Anyone who was in the area over the weekend and saw or heard anything suspicious should contact us on Dundee 223200.”