Government action call from MP over church lead thefts
Thieves targeted St Mary’s in Barwell for second time
THE borough’s MP has called for Government action over the “serious crime” of lead thefts from church roofs.
Bosworth MP, Dr Luke Evans, posed a question in the House of Commons, which confirmed that incidents are on the rise, with Leicestershire experiencing the most incidents.
He is calling on the Government to work with Church Commissioners for England to tackle the issue.
Thieves targeted the Grade I listed St Mary’s Church in Barwell in October 2019 for the second time in three years, leaving worshippers with a £30,000 bill to replace tiles stolen from the south nave and to install an alarm system.
In 2016, thieves stole lead from the chancel roof, with the tiles replaced with stainless steel to avoid further loss and damage to the interior.
Dr Evans said: “In the 20 month period leading up to August 28, last year there were 103 thefts of lead from the roofs of religious buildings in Leicestershire, including a number of offences over the years being carried out in my own constituency.
“That’s more than anywhere else in the country.
“What’s more, these are only incidents that we know about. It could well be that the number is higher.
“Lead theft is a serious crime in our rural communities, one that can do great damage to the fabric of our historic churches; and can be extremely costly to repair, especially when insurance won’t cover repeat incidents.
“We have to take more effective steps to prevent this crime which is sadly once again increasing.
“I am grateful to the Church Commissioners for asking the Government to take steps to strengthen the Scrap Metal Dealers Act, it is important that the Government acts quickly to put effective measures in place.”
Sarah Lee, head of policy at the Countryside Alliance, said:
“It’s both a shocking and sad reality that churches and religious buildings are being targeted for their lead.
“There’s no quick-fix solution to tackling this scourge, but clearly the time has come to revisit the Scrap Dealers Act to ensure it reflects changing nature of organised crime.
“We would encourage communities in and around Hinckley and Market Bosworth, as well as the wider county, to be more vigilant when it comes to watching over churches and places of worship by reporting suspicious activity.
“This is particularly important in rural areas, where churches are more remote.”