Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Security criticised after raid on ancient archive
An angry war of words has erupted in the aftermath of the theft of more than 1,500 irreplaceable historic items.
The theft last month made headlines around the world after crooks ransacked stores used by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust (Cat) in a crime described as “a disaster for the city”.
Some of the items stolen date back to the Iron Age.
Now, while the hunt begins to recover the items, the trust has hit out over security at the former Serco site in Kingsmead. The trust rented a unit from the city council.
Trust director Paul Bennett said: “For the past six to eight weeks, metal thieves have been systematically removing copper and lead pipes and stripping cables across the complex, breaking holes through walls to get from one property to another.
“All this metal theft had been happening without our knowledge – we were not told by the city council – and, more importantly, without the police being informed.
“Our kitchen and toilet were stripped of pipes ,causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
“A heavy-duty electric cable was cut and stripped for copper wire. Our workshop was broken into and numerous hand tools were stolen, including electric drills and chisels.”
Intruders cut through walls to get to the store holding the archaeological educational materials.
Mr Bennett believes they came across the finds by chance.
But he is critical of the city council which he blamed for not ensuring the site remained secure after Serco moved out.
He said: “It is immensely regrettable that the city council did not inform us of the metal thieves and, above all, allowed the break-ins to continue without informing the police and making a pro-active attempt to catch the thieves.
“Our building is now fully alarmed at great expense. All this is after the horse has bolted, we know, but we must catch the thieves as soon as possible to get back these precious and unique collections.”
But city council spokesman Rob Davies said: “We refute any suggestion that they were unaware of security concerns in the area.
“It is entirely Cat’s responsibility to ensure the security of their store and we are surprised they did not have more robust measures in place, especially after Serco moved out.
“We reject suggestions we have not told the police about break-ins and other incidents at Kingsmead, and have taken steps to maintain security across the development site as much as possible.”
The night-time raids were between January 22 and 24.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 01843 222289.