St John the Divine church closes after lead thefts

Father Henshall says some thefts went unnoticed which allowed rain damage to persist

A church in Lancashire has been forced to close after years of repeated lead thefts left it unfit for use and with a £400,000 repair bill.

St John the Divine in Cliviger near Burnley is riddled with dry rot after damp seeped in through areas where protective lead was stolen.

The rot has also damaged its 15th Century seating and Victorian organ.

The church holds the grave of General James Scarlett, who led the charge of the Heavy Brigade in the Crimean War.

'Wetter walls'

The vicar, Father Keith Henshall, said: "Over the past five or six years there have been a number of lead thefts, some of which we've been able to identify straight away and we've been able to get repairs done.

"In other incidents we haven't realised the lead has gone and we've only become aware of it as the walls have got wetter and that has undoubtedly exacerbated our problems with dry rot."

Father Henshall said he hoped the repairs, which need to be funded through donations, would be completed by the end of the year.

Security at the church is being upgraded to try to protect against future thefts.

Theft of lead and other metals has seen an increase according to police, as criminals cash in on the current high price of metals.