Thieves hit church just days after re-launch

Apr 25 2008 The Journal

IT took the parishioners of St John’s Church 10 years to raise more than £100,000 for the roof repairs – and thieves just 48 hours to wreck their fundraising efforts.

After countless jumble sales, pie and pea suppers, Christmas fairs and fundraising lunches, the people of Seaham, County Durham, proudly watched a ceremony last Friday to mark the completion of the repair work to the seaside town’s parish church.

But just two days later, intruders climbed the roof and stripped the joints of lead, ripping away £20,000 worth of the metal in the hope of selling it on for scrap.

One person saw men on the roof in the darkness but did not call police.

The theft left the Church of England vicar Father Peter Twistleton fuming, and one of the church wardens “gutted”.

Sue Webster said: “Words could not describe how I felt, I just felt sick when I heard. Gutted sums it up, I suppose.”

She said volunteers spent many hours raising the £102,050 needed for the extensive repairs.

“We have had Christmas fairs, pie and pea suppers and lunches twice a week. We are a very hard-working parish. We gave up a lot of our time to raise this money, and then this happens.”

Mrs Webster said the church was insured, but the theft would probably cause the premium to rise next year.

The lead alone was worth £20,000, but the labour required to replace it could be thousands more.

Luckily the church, built in 1835, was not affected by rain when the thieves struck, as any water seeping in would have damaged the organ below.

Police have arrested two men on suspicion of stealing lead while they were still on the roof of a disused pumping station in Seaham.

The men, who are local and aged 21 and 26, will also be questioned about the church’s missing lead.

Increased demand for lead on the international markets has seen the commodity’s price rise sevenfold in the last six years.

It is used to make car batteries, back-up power systems for computer and mobile phone networks, as well as the traditional uses like bullets, cables and paint.

A church in Whitwell, Derbyshire, was hit 14 times by thieves who returned each time the lead on the roof was replaced.

Chris Pitt, from the specialist church insurers Ecclesiastical, said: “Worldwide demand for metal is fuelling this epidemic.”

He said local eyes and ears could be the most effective protection against thieves, although the insurer rolled out a programme of hi-tech dyes to deter lead thieves.

“If local people realise their church is being threatened, they will work very hard to protect it,” he said.