Already "hit hard" by the theft of sacred statues and Diwali donations from a temple in Brent, the Hindu community was again targeted in Harrow by a criminal who made off with precious jewellery.

Police are treating the crimes earlier this month as linked due to their proximity and similar methods of forced entry.

They have released a CCTV image of a person they wish to speak to in connection with the crimes and are advising other temples to lock up any valuables.

Detective Constable Pete Wallace said: "I want to reassure our Hindu and Sikh communities, as well as all of the religious communities in Harrow and Brent, that we take offences such as this very seriously and are doing everything we can to trace the suspect. Such behaviour will not be tolerated.

"I would ask those in the community to keep a look out for religious idols that may be offered for sale; they will be distinctive items.

One of the idols stolen

"If such an item is offered and the apparent 'seller' is unable to account for where it came from, please contact police immediately.

"In the meantime I would urge worshippers to take extra care of their places of worship to avoid becoming a victim of crime."

Priests living in an apartment above the Shree Swaminarayan Temple in Willesden Lane were woken at around 2am on November 9, the day after the Hindu New Year celebrations, by a crashing sound.

When they went to investigate, they spotted a male in dark clothing with a yellow rucksack moving below, crouching the avoid detection, and called police, who were unable to find him even with the help of dogs.

Collection boxes of charitable donations from Diwali were stolen, as well as a number of religious idols from the altar, which have immense spiritual and emotional significance for worshippers.

Umang Jeshani, a member of the temple’s committee, said: “The idols have been with us since 1975, when the temple first opened.

The temple wants to see all three idols come home

“They were handed down to us from our mother temple in Bhuj in Gujarat. They are used for rituals and have had huge impact on the Hindu community.

“We have had a lot of support from communities around the UK, it has hit the community quite hard, it’s quite a shock.”

However, he added: “We have done extra prayers, not only for the idols to return but also for the person who stole it too – if you think about it, they must be in a bad situation for them to do something like this.

“We are keeping positive, maybe there is a higher meaning behind it. But we do want the idols back home.”

Some of the items stolen from the Harrow temple

The second burglary took place just four days later on Tuesday (November 13), when an alarm sounded at around 3.45am at the Shri Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple (SKSS) Temple in Westfield Lane, Harrow.

CCTV footage showed a single male in all grey, wearing a hooded coat and with his face covered, searching through their premises, although again no suspect was found by the time police arrived.

As with the previous crime, entry was gained by the suspect forcing his way in through a glass door or window, which is part of the reason police believe the two may be connected.

Police have released an image of some of the jewellery believed to have been stolen from the temple and are urging other temples to take precautions, particularly given the upcoming Sikh and Hindu festival of Kartik Poornima on November 23.

They also advise that people leave valuables is a safe secured to a wall or floor, property mark and photograph their valuable items and install burglar alarms and CCTV as a deterrent.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting 505/9 Nov for the first incident and 2580/13NOV18 for the second.

Alternatively, tweet @MetCC, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.