All Saints Church in Eagle was among those targeted. Photo: Wez Ranyard
Work costing around £20,000 is needed to reline two church roofs after a spate of alleged lead thefts near Lincoln.
Thieves ripped lead from the roof of All Saints Church in Eagle during the weekend of March 8/9.
Local builder Wez Ranyard sheeted both roofs to help protect them until further work is done.
The roof of the church in Eagle. Photo: Wez Ranyard
Police received a further report of lead thefts overnight on March 14-15 from the roof of All Saints Church in North Scarle.
A third church was targeted prior to these two incidents. On March 9 police received a report of theft of lead from St Peter’s Church in Navenby.
Investigations continue to establish whether the incidents are linked, police said.
The roof of the church at North Scarle. Photo: Wez Ranyard
Local builder Wez Ranyard has sheeted the roof at North Scarle.
Reverend Canon Andrew Vaughan is the priest in charge of the Swinderby groups of churches – Eagle and North Scarle.
He told The Lincolnite the lead was stripped from the roofs and taken, which meant some water got in.
He said: “There was some ingress of water which fortunately hasn’t caused serious damage. They are fiddly jobs such as wet pew cushions that need dried, but still not nice to experience.
“It means a lot of work for the smaller congregations of our two churches. Cleaning up is needed and we need to raise around £20,000 to reline each roof.
“It is upsetting, but when you hear about Christchurch in New Zealand it puts everything in perspective as there was no loss of life here. It is upsetting as the churches are working really hard to play a role in the community.
“People have already been making donations. A local builder (Wez Ranyard of Complete Plastering & Building Services Ltd) responded within an hour of our initial post to make sure the Eagle roof was safe.
“He responded similarly to North Scale. He was brilliantly responsive and I have nothing but praise for him. He has been in and got the two roofs sheeted over to protect it until further work is done.”
He added that they are getting an architect out to supervise any work. They need to look at insurance and funding before thinking about possible fundraising events.
Anyone who lives in any of the areas and may have witnessed anything or anyone suspicious should contact police on 101. Any residents with CCTV footage of these locations should also contact police.
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The 32-year-old man and 30-year-old woman arrested in the murder probe of an 11-year-old boy in Lincoln have both been released on police bail, without any charges.
The man was arrested on suspicion of murder and the woman on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident at a house on Geneva Street on St Giles in Lincoln.
Police were called to the house at 10pm on Friday night, January 22.
The 11-year-old boy was found unwell at the scene and was taken to hospital for treatment.
He was pronounced dead a short time later.
At the time Lincolnshire Police said the death was unexplained and it was treated as murder.
The man and the woman arrested at the weekend were released on police bail on Monday evening.
Lincolnshire Police said in a statement on Monday night:
“Once again, we’d like to remind people that this is an active investigation and that an 11-year-old boy has sadly lost his life.
“Speculative comments are not only deeply upsetting to those involved but can potentially undermine our investigation.
“If you have any information that can help, call 101 or email [email protected] quoting incident 472 of January 22.”
Ten people from Boston have been given fines for breaching COVID-19 regulations by driving dangerously in supermarket car parks.
Officers were called after three separate reports of dangerous driving in the car parks of Lidl and Tesco in Wyberton Fen, as well as on Marsh Lane Industrial Estate in Boston.
All three incidents took place and were reported to police between 5pm and 6pm on Sunday, January 24, though it is unsure if they were connected at all.
When officers arrived, the drivers were seen doing donut manoeuvres and racing in the snow.
A total of 10 people were given £200 fines for breaking lockdown guidelines, but this will be reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days, due to all being first time offenders.
As well as the COVID-19 fines, two of the vehicles were also seized as a result of being uninsured, with drivers reported.
A traffic offence report was also submitted after one driver was seen to be driving not just dangerously but out of control.
Inspector Fran Harrod of Lincolnshire Police said: “We would like to thank the public for bringing these incidents of dangerous driving to our attention.
“This is not only extremely dangerous to those taking part but to others in these areas.
“While we continue to engage and explain with the public, this was a blatant breach of the restrictions which will not be tolerated.”