£400,000 bill after thieves steal church roof

A church has been left with a bill for £400,000 after thieves stole the Grade I-listed building’s lead roof in its entirety.

The theft of around 20 tonnes of the valuable metal from All Saint’s Church, Houghton Conquest, near Bedford, has been described as “one of the worst” by a church architect.

Churchgoers are now trying to raise funds towards the replacement as only £15,000 is expected to be paid by insurance.

The theft was discovered at the start of the month. Michael Dales, a church architect who assessed the damage, said: “This is one of the worst lead thefts I have encountered.”