Thou shalt not steal from my church! Vicar and parishioners sleep in the pews to stop copper thieves who have targeted roof

[-Pastor-Dale-Morgan-‏]

Thou shalt not steal from my church! Vicar and parishioners sleep in the pews to stop copper thieves who have targeted roof

By Leon Watson

Last updated at 9:51 AM on 21st November 2011
The Daily Mail UK

Target: The Reverend Barry Hobson says St Andrew's Church in Hornchurch, Essex, has had copper metal stripped from its roof 10 times since the summer

It has been targeted ten times in only five months - so no wonder the vicar is taking matters into his own hands.

The Reverend Barry Hobson has recruited an organist and eight parishioners to protect his church at night from copper thieves.

According to Mr Hobson, thieves have stripped so much metal from the church roof that it will cost tens of thousands to replace.

So his merry band of crime-fighters will sleep among the pews of St Andrew’s Church in Hornchurch, Essex.

A large part of the roof is already covered in temporary grey roofing felt, itself costing up to £40,000, to protect the church after a series of raids.

Damaged: Thieves have stolen a large proportion of the copper from the roof of St Andrew's Church in Hornchurch, Essex. The temporary grey roofing felt has itself cost £40,000

Yet earlier this month the thieves struck at the Grade I listed building again, which was the last straw.

Mr Hobson told the Daily Telegraph: 'I dread to think how much it will cost to replace the copper but we will have to raise the money ourselves.

'Copper thefts have become so prevalent that insurance companies will only pay out about £5,000 a year.'

Mr Hobson said an alarm had been fitted to the church, but somehow thieves had managed to get past it.

Stripped: St Andrew's Church will have its vicar, organist and eight parishioners sleeping in it overnight

He also called for the law to be changed, warning that although no lives had been put at risk in this case, others were in danger when communications systems were targeted.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, branded the Hornchurch thefts 'absolutely sick' and said the criminals’ action should be treated as 'aggravated trespass' to ensure they receive harsher penalties in the courts.

Copper thefts have reached almost epidemic levels as the price of the metal remains high.

Last week a woman 'had a lucky escape' when she plunged 20ft into a sewer after thieves stole a drain cover in Broadbridge Heath, near Horsham, West Sussex.

In a separate incident, three men have been charged with stealing metal in Hailsham, East Sussex, after they were found with huge digger buckets in their vehicle.

Theft of metal from railway lines, power stations and street lighting is estimated to cost the UK economy £770million a year and causes chaos on the transport network and to homes and businesses.

The coastguard on the South Coast lost communications for 36 hours after a theft earlier this year, meaning volunteers along the Solent had to watch day and night with back-up radios to report distress signals.

British Telecom admitted that emergency services were having to patrol some villages because some local people were unable to dial 999 after cables were taken.