Church roof lead stolen

The damage has ruined work to spruce up St Mark's in Ocker Hill Road paid for by churchgoers who raised £15,000 over the last 30 years.

However, when they went into church on Sunday they discovered that lead had been taken from the roof and water was pouring through. Frantic parishioners are now battling to save furniture and protect work that has already been done.

Brenda Baxter, churchwarden at St Mark's said: "We couldn't believe it when we saw what had happened. The carpet is already wringing wet and we have been moving things out of the way.

"The altar can't be moved as it is too heavy, so we have covered it in polythene to protect it from the water.

"The decorators have just been putting the final touches to their work, but the rain has damaged caused real damage to the new paintwork and the ceiling that will all need to be redone."

Alan Causer, a lay preacher at the church, has been carrying out the clean-up.

He said: "The devastation these people have caused compared to the value of the small amount of lead they have taken is enormous.

"The parish has been saving for 30 years to carry out the decorating work. All the money has come from parishioners, many of whom are pensioners and don't have much themselves. It is devastating.

"The rain was pouring through the roof when we discovered it. We haven't gone through the full extent of the damage with the insurers yet, but it is clear from looking at it that a lot of the work needs to be redone.

"It is a very sad situation and it seems that it is happening all over the place. The police told us that more than 70 churches in the West Midlands have been targeted by thieves this way."

A spokesman from West Midlands Police said: "The call came to us at around 11.30pam yesterday reporting that lead had been taken from the roof. "We would ask anyone with information to contact their local police station on 0845 113 50000."