REPAIR work has started on Chester Cathedral after thieves stripped away a 10m section of lead worth £2,500.
The section of roof, above the cathedral shop, was targeted on July 12 as part of a string of similar thefts across Cheshire from Northwich to Neston.
Chief inspector Damien Smethurst is heading up the initiative to combat metal theft and said thieves cost local businesses and other organisations a lot of money and inconvenience.
He said: “Due to the lead generally being on the exterior or roof of a building, we accept that it is extremely difficult to keep it secure.
“But there are steps that can be taken to protect your property, such as installing security lighting or CCTV, applying anti vandal paint and planting bushes and hedges with thorns which make it more difficult for thieves to gain access to flat roofs.
“We generally find that the most vulnerable premises are older public buildings such as schools and churches, or more modern buildings where lead flashing is applied for decorative effect.
“Similarly, we are in the process of identifying premises that could be vulnerable to this type of crime and offering crime prevention advice.
“We will continue to take other steps to address the problem by visiting scrap metal merchants and examining audit reports of the metal they buy and sell.
“Intelligence gathering is vital to this operation – mobile patrol units are actively targeting those vehicles that are traditionally used to transport building materials and conducting intelligence-led stopchecks of vehicles and occupants in accordance with the intelligence we hold.”
Anyone with information relating to lead thefts should contact Cheshire Police on 0845 458 0000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
