Vicar Protects His Church Roof

Vicar sleeps in church to stop thieves stealing lead from the roof.

12:01 07 September 2015

Anglican Venerable Nick Barker is being forced to sleep in his church at night to stop thieves from stealing lead from the roof.

 

His church, the Holy Trinity Church in Darlington, Co Durham is undergoing major repairs after it raised £420,000 in grants and donations. However, thieves have taken advantage and have broken into the church twice to steal lead from the roof. Determined to protect his church, the vicar made a makeshift just before the altar and is sleeping there to keep guard at night.

 

He said: "We have an excellent roof burglar alarm system, on which we are putting extra sensors, and a very good security patrol company.

 

"On both occasions we think that the thieves must have been disturbed.

 

"However, I have been sleeping in the church over the past fortnight to provide added peace of mind in case they try again.

 

"This has left me feeling cross and frustrated. There is only a minimal amount of lead on the roof but thieves can soon do a very costly amount of damage for little reward.

 

"We are an active church trying to do something positive for the community yet we find ourselves targeted. It means that some of the money that people kindly donated to the project has had to go on improved security.

 

"I am also concerned that the people trying to steal the lead are putting themselves at risk. It is dangerous to climb on the roof at night, in the dark."