Thieves who caused £2.1m damage stealing lead from churches including St Hilda's are jailed

The four men stole lead from the roofs of the Church of St Hilda at Sherburn, St Peter's Church at Langtoft near Driffield, and St John's Church at Harpham near Bridlington.

St Hilda's was targeted in November 2019 and it was estimated repairs would cost £50,000.

They have been jailed for a combined 22 years 7 months for the theft of lead from churches across the country.

The four defendants stripped tonnes of lead from Grade 1 and Grade 2 churches between May 2018 and March 2020 - costing 36 churches across the country total of almost £2.1m.

The amount the defendants would have made from scrapping the lead would have been much lower than the cost to the churches.

All four men have previously pleaded guilty to a total of 36 offences and on Wednesday, January 6 were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.

Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft.

Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 16 thefts.

Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts.

Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts.

Motescu and Sucea were each jailed for six and a half years. Buica was jailed for six years. Birtu was jailed for three years and seven months.

Humberside Police Heritage Crime Officer Rich Fussey said: “This is a really fantastic result and shows how seriously this type of offence is taken. The impact the thefts had on our local churches was heartbreaking for the local residents.

“The loss to the churches involved in our region and across the country is enormous, not just in the material cost but in the impact on the local communities and congregations."

Mark Harrison, Head of Heritage Crime Strategy for Historic England said: “The metal stolen will have historic and cultural value and its removal leads to irreparable damage to protected heritage buildings, which is why tackling this problem is so important.”

Churches were targeted across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset, Suffolk, Yorkshire, East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.