Caught on vicar’s garage roof - but lead thieves go free

St Mark’s church treasurer Tony Parsons wrote to the Courier after the men were caught on the roof of the vicar’s garage close to St Mark’s church in Leamington (pictured left) with piles of lead from the roof on the floor nearby.

An alert neighbour had seen the thieves’ torches and called the police, who used a helicopter and dog.

It cost the church’s insurance company thousands of pounds to have the metal put back - but despite apparently being caught red-handed, there was not enough forensic evidence to prosecute the suspected thieves.

Mr Parsons said the potential damage to the listed Victorian church was enormous.

He added: “It seems incredible that two people, caught in such circumstances, having incurred such a lot of expense and potential damage, go free, presumably to do the same thing somewhere else.

“Ecclesiastical Insurance processed 12 such claims in 2002. Last year it processed more than 2,600. I wonder how many resulted in prosecutions.”

It is not the only recent prosecution for metal theft that has failed. In Spinney Hill, Warwick, in October last year, suspected thieves were arrested after metal was taken from the Hobson’s Choice pub.

An 18-year-old Leamington man, a 20-year-old Leamington man and a 21-year-old Warwick man were arrested, as well as a 29-year-old man who was released without charge. But when the case came before magistrates in Leamington in April, the three were cleared.

A Warwickshire Police spokeswoman said: “It is the role of the police to investigate crime and to present the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, who then make a decision based on that evidence as to whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction, and therefore whether a charge is brought or not.

“If someone is charged and appears in court it is a matter for the defence and prosecution legal teams to present their case, with the ultimate decision being made by the magistrates or a jury to find the defendant or defendants guilty or not guilty.”

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman had not responded at the time the Courier went to press.