Party off after thieves steal village hall's copper piping

Plans for a festive party at a Shropshire village hall are in tatters today after thieves stole copper piping and left the interior badly flooded.

Thieves broke into Lee Brockhurst Village Hall, near Wem, and caused about £1,000 damage - throwing villagers' plans for a traditional New Year's Eve party into doubt.

Parish councillors today branded the raid "mindless" and police have appealed for information about the incident, which happened earlier this week.

Copper piping estimated to be worth about £30 was ripped out together with the hot water cylinder.

The culprits also took an electric radial arm saw and even the village hall kettle.

Councillor John James, chairman of Moreton Corbet and Lee Brockhurst Parish Council, said: "Somebody reported water was running down the lane from the village hall so a keyholder went in to check and found water gushing out from under the sink in the kitchen.

"All the copper piping was gone and the stopcock was off so there was no way of isolating the supply.

"We ended up with flooding inside the village hall for about seven hours and a couple of the rooms inside were badly damaged.

"We have wooden floors inside so we think we'll need to hire a dehumidifier to dry it all out. It's mindless for the sake of £30 of copper piping as the damage could be about £1,000.

"This has put into serious doubt the proposed New Year's Eve party that villagers were planning as the repair work cannot be completed in time.

"Villagers have been working hard over recent months refurbishing the village hall and everyone was looking forward to getting together to celebrate the New Year."

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call West Mercia Police on 03003 333000.

By Tom Johannsen