The Church of England is striking back against an “epidemic” of thefts from churches by “DNA-proofing” their roofs.
An “explosion” in the number of thefts ”“ from 80 in 2005 to 1,800 already this year ”“ has forced insurers, which have already paid out £6 million this year, into drastic action.
Churches are seen as an ideal target for thieves because of the high copper and lead content in their roofs.
Sorta makes one wish for the doctrinal equivalent, doesn’t it?
Don’t look now, but the same thing has been happening to the foundations for decades.
Gives fiddler on the roof a whole new meaning.
The copper thieves are so hard at work here that we finally just took all the copper drain pipes off and stored them in the basement, replacing them with galvanized metal until the price of copper drops and they return to having merely their aesthetic value.
This is not unusual. Thieves stole the copper gutters off my Mom’s house a couple of months ago while she was out shopping. My suggestion was to replace them and electrify them, but needless to say she heeded wiser advice and replaced them with plastic. They look terrible.