by Hayley Robinson

A vicar discovered lead had been stolen from the roof of a church when he heard dripping water as he was giving a sermon.

The Rev Steve Lillicrap had just finished his 3.30pm service at St Mary’s Church, Conyer Road, Teynham, when he and his parishioners heard the water hitting the floor.

It was only when they went outside to see how the water was getting in that they discovered the theft.

To add insult to injury more lead was stolen from the roof later that night.

Up to £10,000 damage was caused to the roof and £5,000 of lead sheeting and flashing was stolen during the first theft whcih happened sometime between 7pm on Saturday, June 4 and 9.30am the following day.

The second theft saw £800 of lead sheeting and flashing taken sometime between 5pm Sunday, June 5 and 9am on Monday, June 6.

All the lead was stolen from the north transept roof of the church and police believe the same offenders are responsible for both thefts.

Mr Lillicrap said: "Buckets were put out in the aisles to collect the water and we got a roofing contractor to put up tarpaulin on Monday.

"The church will have to fund the cost initially but we have been in contact with our insurers and hopefully they will fund what we need to do with the roof. We’ve been targeted before but the thieves were interrupted.

"It’s disappointing and the parishioners feel a bit cheesed off, it’s not something we really want to be spending our time dealing with."

Inquiries are being made at local scrap metal dealers and patrols have been stepped up in the area in a bid to catch the culprits.

Investigating officer PC Paul Whitehead said: "I am appealing to anyone who saw people working on the roof over the weekend to contact us. These people may have looked perfectly legitimate and could well have been stealing the lead in broad daylight. Any descriptions of the people or the vehicle they used will help our investigation."

Anyone with information is asked to phone Sittingbourne police station on 01795 419182 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting crime numbers CY/8737/11 and CY/8770/11.