Surge in thefts from churches

The number of thefts from churches in the Black Country has soared by 17 per cent during the past two years, new figures have revealed.

There was a total of 103 reported cases in 2010/11 compared with 88 in the previous 12 months.

Thieves stripping roofs and windows of lead due to the rising price of scrap metal have been responsibile for many of the crimes, while historic artefacts have also been taken. Cash, handbags, computer equipment and even food have too been grabbed from buildings by raiders.

The number of thefts varies in different parts of the region with Sandwell being the worst-hit area where they have almost doubled from 17 to 33 while in Dudley there were 34 in 2010/11, up from 27.

But in Wolverhampton and Walsall there has been a drop in reports with 24 and 12 thefts, respectively, logged last year compared with 26 and 18 during the previous year. But the total number of thefts at Staffordshire churches has fallen slightly from 158 to 156.