Church left praying for an end to roof raids

CLEAN up . . . Reverend Paul Monk surveys the damage in front of the church organ which is now broken

LEAD thieves have targeted a Waterhead church five times in two weeks leaving it with a £12,000 repair bill.

Reverend Paul Monk discovered the first theft when he heard water gushing into the vestry as he prepared for an evening service at Holy Trinity Church.

That was last month. Since then, Rev Monk has been dismayed to find the church has been repeatedly targeted.

The newly-decorated vestry is now heavily waterlogged. The side wall in the main building is heavily stained. The carpet is ruined. And the church organ, built in 1881, has also been soaked through, rendering it useless.

Reverend Monk, who has been at the church for 13 months, and his team were gearing up to open the church for wider community use after gaining planning permission to improve disabled facilities and toilets.

He said: “It is a complete disaster. We were targeted by lead thieves three times earlier this year but to be targeted five times in just over two weeks is heartbreaking. We even tried having people sleep in the church in a bid to beat the thieves but they never came on those occasions.

“Our insurance will cover some of the repair work but we will still have to raise a huge amount of money ourselves.

“These thieves have really affected the running of the church.

“For their meagre gain, they have caused major problems for the people who are trying to make Oldham a better place. All our energy will now have to go into getting the church ready for the Christmas events rather than helping people that really need us.”

If anyone has any information about the lead or would like to donate money towards the cost of the repair work, call Reverend Monk on 0161-624 7708.