Church roof thefts

SIR – Lead is the ideal church roof covering (Letters, July 30), but thieves are creating a national problem. The answer must be to use non-metallic materials that have no market value.

Historic England speaks of “harm”, but what is more harmful to a listed building: a non-metal roof that may not be seen from ground level or a metal one that is likely to be stolen, leaving the church exposed?

I wonder what John Betjeman would have made of all this. Didn’t the Victorians use modern materials in their often acceptable restorations? Edward Fremantle

Buntingford, Hertfordshire