Man locked up for metal theft

A thief who crashed his stolen car carrying lead he had stripped from the roof of a Midland church has been locked up for more than eight months.

Daniel Hyde, 20, stole petrol from a garage to fuel his one-man crime spree which ended when he was injured in the smash.

A judge described Hyde as "mean" for targeting a church. The spree began when he stole a Vauxhall Corsa from the drive of his ex-partner on July 31.

A few days later, he drove to the Habberley Service Station in Kidderminster where he filled up with £30 of fuel before claiming he had forgotten his wallet.

Hyde, of Alveley, near Bridgnorth, left the tax disc as a surety, Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard yesterday.

On August 11, police were called to a crash involving Hyde at Kinver. Officers found seven pieces of lead in the vehicle. They established it had been taken from St Peter's Church at Upper Arley.

Hyde was on bail for possession of heroin at the time. District Judge Martin Brown said: "You stole what might on the face of it be a small amount of lead, but the value of the damage caused will be excessive."

Hyde, of Mallards Close, admitted possession of heroin, breaching a conditional discharge, aggravated vehicle taking, driving with no insurance or licence, fraud, and theft of the lead.

He was given 34 weeks in a young offenders institute.

Churchwarden Louvain Beer today said the sentence was lenient as Hyde had caused "mayhem".