Shropshire Star

Thieves damage church - for the sake of £2

A donation box was ripped off the wall of a village's church - for the sake of £2.

Published

The box was attacked at St Mary's Church in Clunton, near Clun, despite there only being a handful of change inside according to church treasurer Pat Harding.

The raid was discovered by churchgoers ahead of their weekly Sunday service - and is believed to be the first of its kind in the area for more than 80 years.

It comes after raiders have also struck twice in the space of two weeks at St Mary's Church in Alveley, near Bridgnorth, taking hundreds of litres of heating oil from a tank in the grounds of the church.

Police have urged people with information about any of the raids to come forward, and have warned businesses they could be a target for thieves.

Mrs Harding said the donation box at the church in Clunton was attacked some time in the week before last Sunday's service and ripped off the wall.

She said: "The box was broken into and wrenched off the wall.

"They can't have got much out of it - I'd be surprised if there was more than £2. I'd have thought it was hardly worth the effort.

"According to the oldest inhabitant in the village, who is 92, that last time this happened was when he was 10 years old - 82 years ago."

Church volunteers in Alveley thwarted the first raid for heating oil after the church alarm went off and the thieves left what they had siphoned in jerry cans at the scene. But the rest of the oil in the tank was taken some time in the next 10 days.

Reverend Nick Armstrong said: "In the middle of the night about two weeks ago, the alarm at the church sounded and we went up to take a look.

"We found heating oil sat there in jerry cans, but we had thwarted it."

He said the oil from the cans was put elsewhere for safe keeping.

"But unfortunately there was some oil still left in the tank - and they came back, or someone did," he said.

"It was on Sunday we discovered looking at the gauge that oil had gone."

He said it was difficult to estimate how much, but about a few hundred litres had been reported to police.

"We don't lock the tank as then thieves just tend to drill it and cause more of a mess. But we're now putting in better security - measuring more accurately, putting up security lights and being more vigilant.

"It's very frustrating," he said.

Sergeant Adrian Woolley of West Mercia Police said the force was providing advice for people in a bid to thwart oil thefts.

He said: "The safer neighbourhood team is giving advice to all potential commercial premises that may be targeted. We have a suggested list of products such as oil alarms and security cameras that they can install."

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