• ALL Saints Church has suffered from a second lead theft incident. The theft was discovered by Rev. Deb Smith at around 8.30am on Tuesday, August 10, when she arrived to open up the church.

Two complete panels of lead had been stolen from the western section of the lower northern roof.

This is the second time the northern roof has been subjected to lead theft.

The first was two years ago and as approval to repair has only just been received repairs on that had not yet started when the second theft took place.

Both damaged sections have now been temporarily repaired to protect the church from further water damage in the short term whilst the current position is assessed.

Meanwhile members of the church have organised a work day on Saturday, September 11. They plan to spend the day clearing and tending to the area around the church building, removing scrub, cutting the grass and generally tidying up so the surroundings make it easier to spot the thieves.

They have issued a plea for local people to come and help with this. All you need to bring is a packed lunch, gardening gloves, rubbish bags, any gardening tools you possess - and a smile!

They hope the more difficult they make it for these thieves to operate without being spotted by clearing the area around, the less attractive a target the church will be.

In the meantime they would be very grateful if people living near the church or passing by would be on the alert and report anything at all suspicious, especially at dusk or after dark.