Security lights smashed in Shropshire church lead theft
Thieves smashed security lights and scaled a doorway to steal lead flashing from a Shropshire church.
The culprits took lead from the porch, tower and the south side of St Peter's Church in High Street in Edgmond, near Newport.
The theft happened overnight on Monday and police were alerted by a dog walker who noticed rubble outside the church's porch.
The Rev Edward Ward said the theft was a warning to all churches that thieves may be targeting places of worship once again. It is the third theft of its kind in the Newport area in recent weeks after lead flashing was stolen from the roof at Trinity Church and above a house's bay window in Audley Avenue.
Mr Ward said the church would have to liaise with English Heritage about how to fix the Grade I-listed building.
He said the church's roof had been replaced with stainless steel during the 1960s, which might have stopped further damage being caused to the 14th century church.
He said: "The church has not been targeted before and I don't think many in the whole deanery have either. The thieves didn't break into the church but took all the lead from the outside. They also vandalised our two security lights, one by the door and one to the south of the church.
"The lead has all been covered with the invisible SmartWater ink, which cannot be removed and has a code unique to this church. It means they could be stuck with that lead and unable to sell it on to anyone."
Churches have been attacked by thieves nearly 300 times in the last five years in Shropshire and Mid Wales. Organised gangs deliberately target places of worship, seeing them as easy pickings.
CCTV cameras have been fixed outside St Mary's Church in Alveley, near Bridgnorth, to deter thieves.
In one case, bell ringer Roy Page stopped two thieves stealing lead from a church roof by blocking their exit with his car.
Constable Lee Thomas of West Mercia Police's safer neighbourhood team for Newport said they were alerted after a quantity of lead flashing had been stolen from the roof of the church porch and the church tower.
Anyone with information or who saw something suspicious is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 127S of May 12.
