Brazen thieves drive over graveyard to steal lead from Quidenham church roof, causing £15,000 damage
The Rev Canon Stephen Wright and churchwarden Jan Burrow-Wilkes outside St Andrew's Church in Quidenham, where £15,000 of damage was caused when lead was stolen from the roof. Picture: ANDREW PAPWORTH - Credit: Archant
Audacious thieves cut through a fence and drove a van over a graveyard before stripping a church of its lead roofing in a daring overnight raid which caused £15,000 of damage.
Residents in Quidenham, near Attleborough, were shocked to wake up and discover the lead had been taken from the historic St Andrew's Church during the night.
In what churchwarden Jan Burrow-Wilkes described as a 'brazen and well-planned' operation, the culprits left no fingerprints or trace of their identity - save for the tyre marks left in the grass of the churchyard.
They also smashed the church's security lights to avoid detection but may have been distracted by passers-by, as they left some lead behind before their getaway.
The latest raid comes just weeks after Norfolk was named as a national hotspot for lead theft, with 40 historic buildings targeted over the course of two years.
READ MORE: Region one of the worst affected for lead thefts
You may also want to watch:
'We are angry that someone would do such a thing and that they should be so without concern for other people's property,' said the Rev Canon Stephen Wright, priest-in-charge at the Quidenham Group of Parishes.
'I hope they can be caught. It's sad we live in a country where people like this are around.
Most Read
- 1 Tributes to much-loved Laura, 28, after Covid death
- 2 Covid rips through care homes again with deaths almost doubling in a week
- 3 'I am heartbroken' - Woman's two cats killed by 'reckless' drivers
- 4 'Isolate from your household' plea as Covid soars in Norwich
- 5 A47 closed in both directions after crash
- 6 Part of seventh skeleton discovered in city street
- 7 Concern elderly people 'being ignored' as town has no vaccination centre
- 8 Norfolk yet to reach peak in latest wave of coronavirus deaths
- 9 Man seriously injured after Norfolk crash
- 10 Norwich sees biggest rise in Covid infection rates in the country
'It's something we've been warned about, thieves targeting Norfolk at the moment. It's a bit mystifying how someone can drive something into the churchyard and not be heard.
'It's distracting for the work of the church. It's just such a heartless disrespect for people's property.'
The church is now liaising with its insurance company to see how much of the cost of the damage is covered or whether it will have to raise additional funds.
Mrs Burrow-Wilkes added: 'Small rural churches are very vulnerable because we're so isolated.
'The irritation for us is that we're having to divert our attention to repairing the fabric of the building when we'd really like to be concentrating on the spiritual well-being of the village.'
The incident took place between 8pm yesterday and 9.30am today.
Anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the area between the times stated, or anyone with information, should contact PCSO Dion Phillips at Attleborough Police Station on 101.