A COMMUNITY which rallied round to pay for repairs to a church roof has been dealt a blow after the building was targeted by thieves.

Lead worth several thousands of pounds has been stolen from the roof of St Mary’s Church, in Cockfield, near Bishop Auckland.

The thieves also damaged a large number of roof tiles while removing the lead.

The theft is believed to have taken place one night last week.

In 2007, about £100,000 was spent on repairs to the roof and ceiling at the church.

The work included installing the lead that has now been stolen.

The repairs were funded by a grant from English Heritage, money from the Heritage Lottery Fund and about £16,000 from the community.

The Reverend Jane Grieve, the vicar of St Mary’s, said: “I have already received a number of expressions of sympathy and outrage that a church should be targeted.

“We have a congregation of mainly elderly women and this is very sad for them.

“This village deserves to have good things happen to it for all the hard work that people do.”

About a quarter of the lead from the church’s valley guttering was taken by thieves.

Sheets of lead were also loosened, but not taken – prompting suggestions that the thieves were disturbed, or planned to return later.

The lead theft follows a spate of thefts of mainly building materials in County Durham.

Inspector Kevin Tuck, from Teesdale police, said: “With this sort of crime there is a loss in monetary terms, but there is also a loss in terms of the community.

“We would ask people to be diligent, and if they see something which they think isn’t quite right then give us a ring – we would rather be called and it be a false alarm than not be called and risk missing a crime in progress.”

Anyone with information about the lead theft from St Mary’s, or any of the building material thefts, is asked to call Durham Police on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800-555-111.

■ COPING stones which were stolen from a church cemetery wall have been recovered.

About 35 metres of stone, worth hundreds of pounds, was taken from a wall in Staindrop, near Bishop Auckland, during the night of January 3.

Two men, from the Bishop Auckland area, were arrested in connection with the incident.

They have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

The stones will now be marked with SmartWater, which is a forensic fluid providing police with a liquid DNA, to aid recovery if they are stolen again.