Three East-Anglian dioceses are hosting a conference next month dedicated to stopping church lead and metal thefts, after tens of thousands of pounds worth was
The Diocese of Norwich, St Edmundsbury and Ipswich & Ely are hosting the Lead Theft and Security Conference at Norwich Cathedral on July 11th.
Spokespeople from the police and alarms systems companies will be addressing guests and there will also be discussions about alternative roofing materials.
It's thought hundreds of thousands of pounds worth has been stolen from East Anglian churches in the past five years.
The area has a very high concentration of mediaeval churches which were originally roofed with lead, a valuable material.
In March a 23-year-old man from Birmingham was jailed for 32 months after admitting stealing lead from St Peter's Church in Guestwick and All Saints Church in Alby, however other thieves have never been caught.
Margaret Mallett, who's organising the Lead Theft and Security Conference, told Premier: "It's really upsetting to people in the parishes.
"We have had several incidents of lead being stolen. As soon as one gang seems to be caught we get another spate of lead thefts.
"[In one instance] immediately after they'd taken it there was a downpour and the interior of the church was wrecked."
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Article by Aaron James
Tola Mbakwe is a multimedia journalist for Premier.
