St John’s Church in Wellington has become the latest victim in a series of thefts of lead from church roofs.
Wellington’s PCSO Steve Hill said: “On Friday night St John’s Church in Wellington got attacked and a large quantity of lead sheeting was taken from the roof of the church.
“If anyone was in the vicinity of the church Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday morning and saw or heard anything unusual can you please contact 101 quoting Niche 5220049607.”
Church officials praised the work of local tradesmen who came to the rescue in torrential rain and high winds. “A very big thanks to Courtney Bowden Roofing for doing a fantastic job securing the site and protecting the bare roof. The tarpaulin had a mind of its own in the strong wind, but Kevin Bowden and Dave West won in the end. – Glad you found your hat Kevin!” said a St John’s official.
Church Warden Christine Winhall reported that a large piece of lead from the roof had been left behind by the thieves. She said, “They had taken it down and folded it up, then put it behind the church hall, presumably to collect later. It was very heavy – about 70 kilos Kevin estimated.
“The thieves took 10 pieces this size, so there must have been several members of the gang. It would probably take four strong men to lift each one. We think they either got disturbed or had loaded their vehicle with the maximum weight.
“We moved the bit they had left behind, and a heavy duty tarpaulin was fixed over the entire roof preventing further water ingress. Inside there was water dripping onto the contents of our choir vestry. Luckily the electronic organ was moved before it got wet. Overall things could have been a lot worse, we feel very sad for our friends in Bradford on Tone who have had a huge amount of damage due to these mindless acts.”
This attack is the second in the local area in the last week. On Thursday 27 February the roof of St Giles’ Church, Bradford-on-Tone was found to have been stripped of lead overnight. This led to the church being flooded and serious damage caused to the organ which was undergoing a £32,000 renovation. It will now need a complete repair estimated to cost more that £100,000. Police have appealed for anyone with any information to call 101 giving the call handler the reference number 5220047607.
Similar thefts of lead from church roofs have recently occurred across Somerset. The thefts are believed to have taken place “under the cover of storms”, the Diocese of Wells and Bath has said. Four churches in Somerset have had lead stripped from them in the past week, according to the diocese, including about six tonnes of lead stolen from St Martin’s Church in Kingsbury Episcopi during Storm Dennis. Churches in Meare, Middlezoy and Barrington have also been targeted.
Emma Brown, the church building advisor for the Bath and Wells diocese, said at least 20 churches in the county have been hit by lead thieves in the last six months. “It has a great deal of impact on churches particularly those in rural settings,” she said. “These are small congregations, finances are already quite tight so an impact such as this could cost them £40,000 of funds they simply don’t have.”