27 January 2012

LEGISLATION is to be introduced to stop thieves who strip churches of their lead and leave parishes facing bills of thousands of pounds in roof repairs.

The new law, introduced by Secretary of State Theresa May, will make it a crime to sell scrap metal for cash. In her amendment to existing legislation, Ms May said: “Cash transactions for scrap metal are often completed without any proof of personal identification or proof that the individual legitimately owns the metal being sold. This leads to anonymous, low risk transactions for those individuals who steal metal.”

She went on to say that the cash payments mean poor record keeping and can lead to tax evasion. The new law comes into force after the Government announced in November 2011 a £5m dedicated metal theft taskforce to enhance law enforcement.

She added: “These amendments are part of our wider attempts to tackle all stages in the illegal trading of stolen scrap metal and we shall bring forward further measures in due course.”

Natalie Merry, Secretary of the Diocesan Advisory Committee, for the Diocese of Oxford said: “This legislation is what we hoped would happen and it has happened sooner than we expected. I’ll be interested to see what the other measures are that are being brought in to tackle these thefts.”

Archdeacon of Buckingham, the Ven. Karen Gorham, said: "The ongoing theft of metal has been a constant problem for our churches over the last five years. The patience, resolve and determination of our congregations to not be beaten by the thieves in a climate of limited insurance payouts has to be admired and applauded.

"Many churches have experienced multiple thefts, have had thousands of pounds worth of damage but have still managed to keep our nation's historic buildings in good repair for future generations. Others have spent much time and effort installing deterents. I welcome the government's intervention. The regulation of scrap metal dealers is long overdue and I hope will go some way to halting what has become an expensive and disruptive problem."