A CHURCHWARDEN has expressed his anger and frustration after lead worth about £4,000 was stolen from the roof of his church.

Jim Barling discovered the theft from St John's at Barham, near Canterbury,after spotting tyre marks on the grass in the churchyard.

He believes the thieves had their own ladders and used a pick-up truck to take the lead away.

“About a third of the lead on the south aisle roof of the church is missing. They have probably taken about 15 square metres of it,” he said.

“People see it as a victimless crime because the insurance company pays, but the excess will still cost us about £1,000 and every time we make a claim the premiums go up.

“I am absolutely gutted. The church is not rich – we are on a knife edge financially.”

The incident is the latest in a series of thefts from churches prompted by rising prices of scrap metals.

Mr Barling added: “I have had some very unchristian thoughts. I don’t understand the criminal mind and I don’t understand people who find it necessary in our society to steal, especially from a church.”