POLICE have been providing reassurance at churches across Somerset where lead has been stolen from roofs.

Several churches have reported roof tiles being removed overnight, including, as the WWN reported last week, at Bradford-on-Tone and in Wellington, leaving them with expensive repair bills.

Chief Inspector Martyn Cannon said: “We have had a number of reports of similar incidents in Somerset in recent weeks, with churches in areas such as Glastonbury, Kingsbury Episcopi, Barrington, Bridgwater and Ilton also targeted.

“These incidents can cause a lot of distress to communities. Officers have been visiting churches to provide reassurance and security advice around CCTV to try to prevent further thefts.

“We would ask members of the public though to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour to us on 101. If you see an ongoing crime, call 999.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and give the call-handler reference number 5220054726.