Lead stolen from church roof in Houghton Conquest near Bedford

Thieves have stripped the lead off a church roof in Houghton Conquest.
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MBTC lead stolen from church roof c5Nh8TwkHqVvdkM30FXz

The incident, at All Saints Church was reported on Wednesday. Police suspect it was taken between September 20 and October 2. It’s believed around 20 tonnes of lead was taken from the building which is Gade 1 listed.Inspector Nick Masters said: “We have received a report that all the lead from the roof of All Saints Church in Houghton Conquest has been stolen.

“From looking into this further, we suspect the people responsible may have been going backwards and forwards to the church for a prolonged period of time; due to the sheer quantity of lead taken, it’s unlikely that it happened over a few days.

“It’s likely that the people responsible were driving trucks or vans so they could transport scaffolding or ladders in order to access the roof of the church, and may have posed as tradesmen.

“Therefore, we’re asking anyone who has seen anything suspicious in the area over the past few weeks to get in touch. Perhaps you have seen an increase in vans or people wearing high-vis jackets in the area recently, in which case we’d ask you to get in touch and tell us where and when you saw them.

“If any local residents have any CCTV covering the area, does it cover the close vicinity of the church? If so, have you seen anything suspicious on reviewing it that might be helpful to our investigation?

“This is an audacious incident and we’re exploring a number of lines of enquiry to find out how this happened. Clearly this is unacceptable and we’re taking this incredibly seriously.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call 101 or report using the online reporting tool at www.bedfordshire.police.uk/report

Picture: Courtesy of Gary Mudd

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