Church lead thief traced after abandoning getaway van

Heavy rain drenched the cemetery causing the van to sink into the ground and forced Petre Cazan to flee empty handed

A thief who stole lead from church roofs was caught after his fingerprint was found in an abandoned getaway van.

Petre Cazan's vehicle became bogged-down in the ground under the lead's weight at St Laurence's in Foxton, Cambridgeshire, in June 2016.

He targeted seven churches in four counties causing nearly £190,000-worth of damage, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

The 42-year-old was found guilty of theft and sentenced to seven years and six months in his absence.

Cazan, of Grosvenor Road, Edmonton, London, had pleaded not guilty at a previous hearing.

The court heard mobile phone and number plate camera evidence put Cazan close to the sites of the thefts

The court heard the crime spree took place between June and July 2016.

Cazan would climb up drainpipes to access church roofs and throw the lead down onto the ground,

His first target was All Saints' Church in Marsworth, Hertfordshire, where he stole more than a fifth of its lead, with an estimated repair cost of £40,000.

The following day, a payment for scrap metal of £1,351 was put into his bank account, the court heard.

He targeted All Saints' Church, East Meon twice, causing £15,000-worth of damage

Cazan also stole from All Saints' Church in East Meon, East Hampshire, All Saints' Church in Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire, St Michael's Church in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, Holy Trinity Church in Meldreth in Cambridgeshire and St John the Baptist in Cottered, Hertfordshire, the court was told.

Police were able to secure DNA and fingerprint evidence after he targeted the church in Foxton on 20 and 21 June 2016.

On the second occasion, he was forced to abandon his van when it sank into sodden ground after heavy rain.

Police were able to recover evidence from its door and a cigarette butt left on the church roof also had Cazan's DNA on it.

Cazan was convicted of seven counts of theft and seven counts of criminal damage.