Damage of at least £80,000 after lead thieves steal off roof of historic building in Ludlow town centre area

Police have not said where the building is or who the owners are but are appealing for witnesses to the crime between 12.30am and 4.30am on Thursday morning.

Officers are appealing for information about a white transit van seen in the Market Square area of Ludlow that had only one roof bar at the front and a small strip of red and yellow hazard marking on the back.

PC Jon Lightfoot, heritage crime officer at West Mercia Police said the removal of lead from the roof and drainage system allowed water in which has caused even more damage to the inside of the property.

"As you will be aware we have had a lot of wet weather since that day which has caused even more damage to the inside of the property due to the removal of the lead," he said.

"The property itself is a grade 2* listed property which means it has certain protections within law. As this is a historic property it is classed as a heritage crime.

"It is currently thought that it will cost around £80,000 to repair the roof and water damage inside the property. However this could rise as the investigation continues."

PC Lightfoot added that heritage crime is any offence which harms the value of heritage assets and their settings.

"Some heritage assets are protected by specific legislation to prevent harm caused by damage or unlicensed alteration.

"However, other crimes such as theft, criminal damage, arson and anti-social behaviour offences can also damage and harm heritage assets, and interfere with the public's enjoyment and knowledge of their heritage.

Heritage assets are sites which are considered to have a value to the heritage of England and include: Listed buildings, scheduled monuments, world heritage sites, protected marine wreck sites, conservation areas, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, protected military remains of aircraft and vessels of historic interest

"We are asking the public to check CCTV and dashcams for the above time scale in and around the Market Square of Ludlow," he added.

"We would be particularly interested in speaking to anyone who witnessed a white transit van that had only one roof bar at the front and a small strip of red and yellow hazard marking on the back.

Contact West Mercia Police on 101, or use the website with the reference number: 22/17678/24.

If you are not comfortable reporting things directly to the police you can give information anonymously via Crimestoppers