Enderby EYE

the village ...and beyond

Chemical 'fingerprint' deters church lead thieves

15 April 2008

Thieves thwarted in church roof theft attempt...
Enderby EYE

Lead thieves who targeted Enderby Parish Church on Leicester Lane in Enderby were thwarted by a new chemical "fingerprint" system for metal.

Last Sunday, a member of the church discovered it had almost been a victim of lead thieves just 12 months after a similar incident.

In April last year, nearly £15,000 of damage was caused by metal thieves when they ripped lead off the church roof.

Thieves are targetting buildings to remove metal fixtures as the global price of metal rockets due to heavy demand from developing countries in the East.

Thieves will also target copper piping and other metal material.

On this occasion the thieves were no doubt dismayed to find the replacement roof had been treated with 'SmartWater', a chemical that leaves a signature telling where it originated from, making it difficult for thieves to sell it on.

The special liquid is distributed by police and insurance companies to help reduce metal theft.

The latest attempt to steal from the Parish Church was discovered after the Sunday morning communion service, when churchwarden Johnathan Monk went to investigate the source of a leak.

Mr Monk told local media he discovered about 10 square metres of the roof had been damaged where the thieves had peeled back the lead.

"They would have been able to tell the SmartWater was there" he said, "because it leaves a yellow sticky film..."

Despite a small amount of damage caused by the attempted theft, the 'SmartWater' system appeared to have worked.

Last year, most of the lead was taken from the church roof and police believed it probably took the thieves a full night to remove.

Speaking about the latest incident, vicar Steve Davies said the thieves had obviously seen that the church had put new lead on the roof following the theft last April, and they tried to steal it.

It seems they saw the 'SmartWater' warnings on it.

Rev. Davies said unfortunately the church will have to put scaffolding up again and have the damage repaired, but it is a relief that the lead wasn't taken.

Working together

Pc Steve Day, crime reduction officer for South Leicestershire, says that Leicestershire Constabulary is working with the Anglican Church and SmartWater to combat the theft of metal from churches. The latest incident in Enderby demonstrated that the approach is having an impact.

PC Day says 'SmartWater' is an extremely effective crime fighting tool. Shining an ultra-violet light on property the police think has been stolen will show up the 'SmartWater' signature which can then be used as evidence.

PC Day said thieves should know that they will be prosecuted.

Anyone with information about lead thefts can call Leicestershire police on 0116 222 2222.

Alternatively they can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Associated links:

» Enderby Parish Church

» Leicestershire Constabulary

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