Church warden who repaired plundered roof faces court bill

A CHURCH warden who repaired a roof damaged by lead thieves ended up in court and has been ordered to pay legal costs.

Martin Watts used Sarnafil, a plasticbased roofing membrane, at medieval All Saints Pickwell, a church court was told.

Thousands of pounds’ worth of damage had been done when thieves struck at the Grade I listed church, which dates from the 13th century, in 2016.

Church wardens established that replacing the lead would cost £12,840 plus architect’s fees, compared with the £7,760 cost of composite material.

But after heritage groups described the roof as “visually objectionable”, it emerged that Mr Watts had failed to apply for court permission to do the work using Sarnafil.

Mr Watts received backing from area dean the Rev Peter Hooper, who said he was “more than happy” with the replacement roof, though he added that he could not condone the decision to install it without permission.

Supporters argued that the decision had been taken by the parochial church council (PCC) as a whole.

However, Mark Blackett-ord, the chancellor of the diocese of Leicester, said Mr Watts was the “driving force” and ordered him to pay the costs of the court proceedings.

He said the new roof, which is likely to last around 20 years, could remain as it would be “wasteful” to remove it, but it “should be inspected and maintained with the greatest care”.

The chancellor added that Mr Watts could not take a contribution to the costs from church funds but members of the PCC were free to make individual contributions if they had backed the decision.