Cheselbourne church: Thieves strip £60,000 of lead from roof

The theft means the church is not waterproof

"Opportunistic" thieves stripped £60,000-worth of lead from the roof of a 500-year-old church in Dorset.

The metal was ripped from both the south and north transepts of St Martin's in Cheselbourne, near Dorchester, on Sunday or early Monday.

The Rev Roger Butcher said targeting the building was an attack on the shared communal life of villagers.

He added that the economic cost would be "burdensome" on the church and village communities.

Father Butcher said: "Such an action by opportunists is very unwelcome as our national sense of fear is at an all-time high due to the current pandemic.

"Such an attack upon our building is an attack upon the shared communal life of the villagers of Cheselbourne.

"We will recover. In the meantime, we will try and make the church building waterproof, albeit temporarily, and seek long term solutions with the various organisations."

Parts of the Grade I-listed church date back to the late 13th Century

Dorset Police said the theft happened between 09:30 GMT on Sunday and 09:30 on Monday.

Sgt Andy Napper said: "I am appealing to anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the Cheselbourne area during the relevant times to please get in touch.

"I am aware of another report of lead theft in the Dorchester area recently and I would like to reassure the public that an investigation is under way into both incidents."