Lead theft hot spots revealed

More churches in Manchester diocese have had lead stripped from their roofs by criminals this year than any other area of the UK, according to specialist insurer Ecclesiastical.

Manchester diocese tops the list of metal theft claims with more than 90 claims recorded up to the end of November. It is closely followed by Lincoln, Chelmsford and Southwark dioceses with more than 70 claims from each, and Lichfield diocese with more than 60 claims so far this year.

Thefts from these five dioceses amount to more than 25% of all theft of metal incidents in the country. Although the five dioceses have taken the worst hit this year, there is no area in the country that hasn’t suffered from theft of metal and several other hotspot areas are on the insurer’s radar for close monitoring and action.

Overall 2010 is set to be the third worst year on record for theft of metal from churches. So far, a total of 1,484 claims have been received by Ecclesiastical from UK churches alone with a total cost to the insurer exceeding £3 million.

Ecclesiastical’s direct insurance services director John Coates said: “It’s been a pretty dire year for lead theft with Manchester and these four other dioceses bearing the brunt of the problem.

“With lead and other valuable metals fetching high prices on world markets, it’s not surprising that criminals have been hard at work stripping churches and exposing them to the elements.

“After the slight reprieve of 2009 when we saw a slight decrease in the number of theft of metal claims, this year has once again proved that the issue isn’t going to go away without a more focused effort on a national level to stamp out this crime. Second Church Estates Commissioner Tony Baldry’s speech at the House of Commons last week and the work of the newly formed Church Buildings Council’s theft of metal working group will hopefully help put some pressure on the legislative powers in this country to take some serious action and stop the systematic destruction of our nation’s heritage.

“The key message we have tried and will continue to try to get across is that theft of metal isn’t a crime that simply affects the church buildings. It is a crime that has a devastating impact on the people and communities that support our churches and depend on them in their everyday lives.”

2007 and 2008 were the worst years on record for metal theft with the number of claims exceeding 4,600 and costing more than £16 million for the two years.