Lead thieves cause £10,500 damage to Wolverhampton church
Lead thieves targeted a Grade-I listed church near Wolverhampton, stripping metal from the roof and causing £10,500 worth of damage.
It is the sixth time St Bartholomew's Church in Tong has been hit by metal thieves in the space of five years.
The gang was captured in the act on CCTV, offering hope that those responsible can be traced from the images.
Reverend Pippa Thorneycroft said: "This is the first time this has happened at the church while I have been here and I have been here about a year-and-a-half.
"It's just really upsetting for everyone at the church to hear about this.
"It was our church warden who found the damage and he was really upset when he went to open the church on Monday morning.
"We do think they took as much as they could. They couldn't fit everything in the van as some of it was still by the door.
"I believe there have been a few similar thefts on the A41 near our church, but it seemed to be quiet for a while.
"I would just ask anyone who knows any information about the theft to contact the police."
She added: "We have great CCTV and we have images of the thieves, so we hope to catch them soon. However four of the CCTV cameras had their wires cut, so these people knew exactly what they were doing.
"Previously we have asked English Heritage to allow us to use a different type of material on the roof, as this has happened before.
"But they said because it is a Grade I-listed building it has to be lead. Perhaps they will change their minds after they hear about this happening again.
"Luckily no one was injured during the incident, but we just hope there is a silver lining at the end of this."
The church is more than 600 years old.
The theft happened at some point during Sunday night and the early hours of Monday.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101.
