Church puts on patrols to defeat lead thieves

10:00am Thursday 2nd September 2010

By Amanda Greaves

A clergyman has joined police in calling for residents to be on their guard for lead thieves who have targeted a church and schools.

Thieves caused thousands of pounds of damage when they pulled lead from the roof of St Margaret’s Church in Ilkley, prompting calls for parishioners and other townspeople to be vigilant.

Burley-in-Wharfedale’s Ghyll Royd School and a Silsden school have also been hit by lead thieves in recent weeks, say police, who are appealing for residents to report any suspicious vehicles seen in the area.

Priest-in-Charge at St Margaret’s, Canon Philip Gray, has called the theft from the church roof a ‘sorry reflection on the morality of some members of our society’.

He is asking neighbours to help keep an eye on St Margaret’s Church, on Queens Road, after thieves stole lead from the south aisle roof of the Victorian building late on Friday, August 20, or in the early hours of the following day.

Father Philip called on parishioners to pass the church regularly, particularly during the hours of darkness, telling them their vigilance could make all the difference.

“The robbers made a bit of a mess, although we hope that our insurance will cover us,” he said. “We’ve written to local residents encouraging them to be vigilant and at the moment we’re employing a watch scheme.”

The church has an alarm system to help protect its roof, and in an effort to stop the thieves, which will alert police and private security. The roof of St Margaret’s has been marked with SmartWater chemicals, which can be identified if attempts are made to sell the lead.

Police confirmed that there have been a number of lead thefts reported recently, including a theft at the independent Ghyll Royd School in Burley-in-Wharfedale at the end of July.

Inspector Sue Sanderson, of Wharfedale and Craven Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) said there had not been a major surge in the crime locally, but asked residents to help watch out for those responsible following a number of thefts.

“We have seen an increase in lead theft,” she said. “The main appeal is for people to keep an eye out. We would usually expect anyone stealing lead to be in some kind of vehicle, and we would ask people to keep an eye out for suspicious-looking vehicles and to obtain the registration number.”

Other communities have also been suffering from an increase in lead thefts, said to be the result of the rising price of scrap lead.

A school in Silsden has had lead stolen, and a church at Gargrave, near Skipton, has been left with a bill of more than £30,000 after thieves struck earlier this week. A church in Guiseley and a school in Yeadon have also had lead stolen in recent weeks.

An insurance advisor for the Bradford Diocese recently said there had been a significant increase in the theft of lead from churches, confirming the cost ran into ‘tens of thousands’ of pounds across the diocese.

Insp Sanderson said police in Keighley recently carried out an operation checking for stolen lead in vehicles arriving at scrapyards.

Anyone with information on suspected lead thieves is asked to contact Wharfedale and Craven NPT at Ilkley Police Station on 01274 475301.