ROMANIAN gang members who stripped lead from church roofs - including one in Dorset - have been jailed for a combined total of more than 20 years.

The four men targeted 36 churches across England - including St Martin's Church in Cheselbourne near Dorchester, leaving an estimated £60,000 repair bill - and costing churches around the country a total of £2.1million.

As reported, theft rocked the quiet village of Cheselbourne when the gang struck in in March 2020 during the start of the pandemic.

The night-time attacks also took place in Somerset, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire - stripping tonnes of lead from Grade I and Grade II listed churches between May 2018 and March 2020.

The four men, who had previously pleaded guilty to the offences, were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday.

Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft and was jailed for six and a half years, Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to 16 thefts and was sent down for six years; Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts and was imprisoned for six and a half years, and Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts and received three years and seven months.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Shield, of Lincolnshire Police, who led the investigation, said: “Working in partnership with other forces and agencies including the Diocese of Lincoln and Historic England, our dedicated Op History team have worked tirelessly to ensure justice is served.

“Some of the church congregations are still struggling to find the funds to repair the damage and restore their significant historical buildings which means so much to them as well as the local communities they serve.

“The vast majority of these churches will have had insurance in place, but the insurance only covers a small part of the costs so congregations have been left to foot the remainder of the bill.

"The impact of these offences goes well beyond the significant financial cost. Communities have felt a great sense of loss at the damage caused to their heritage, and increased vulnerability due to the rural nature of many of the premises.

“It is still unclear what these defendants spent the money they gained from these thefts on and investigations into this is still ongoing.

“Some of the buildings are thousands of years old so these men have potentially destroyed hundreds of years of our heritage.”

A Proceeds of Crime hearing will be held at a later date to try to recover some of the gang's ill-gotten gains.