Romanian lead thieves who targeted TEN Somerset churches in £2.1m crime spree

The four men targeted 36 churches across England over two years, costing them a total of £2.1million in damage and repairs during a two-year crime spree.

The local churches included St Peter and St Pauls, South Petherton; St Edward King and Martyr, Goathurst; St Mary's, Glastonbury; St Giles', Bradford-on-Tone; St Andrew and St Mary, Pitminster; Holy Cross, Middlezoy; St Mary's, Barrington; St Peter's, Ilton; St Mary's, Chetserblade; and St John the Baptist, Wellington.

They also stole lead from churches during night-time attacks in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.

The offenders were tracked down through a joint operation involving Avon and Somerset Police and their counterparts in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Humberside.

They had stripped tonnes of lead from Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed churches between May 2018 and March 2020.

The four men, who had previously pleaded guilty to the offences, were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday (January 6).

Constantin Mote

Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft and was jailed for six and a half years.

Paul Buica

Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to 16 thefts and was sent down for six years.

Mihail Birtu

Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts and received three years and seven months.

Laurentiu Sucea

Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts and was imprisoned for six and a half years.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Shield, of Lincolnshire Police, who led the investigation, said: “Working in partnership with other forces and agencies including the Diocese of Lincoln and Historic England, our dedicated Op History team have worked tirelessly to ensure justice is served.

“Some of the church congregations are still struggling to find the funds to repair the damage and restore their significant historical buildings which means so much to them as well as the local communities they serve.

“The vast majority of these churches will have had insurance in place, but the insurance only covers a small part of the costs so congregations have been left to foot the remainder of the bill.

"The impact of these offences goes well beyond the significant financial cost. Communities have felt a great sense of loss at the damage caused to their heritage, and increased vulnerability due to the rural nature of many of the premises.

“It is still unclear what these defendants spent the money they gained from these thefts on and investigations into this is still ongoing.

“Some of the buildings are thousands of years old so these men have potentially destroyed hundreds of years of our heritage.”

A Proceeds of Crime hearing will be held at a later date to try to recover some of the gang's ill-gotten gains.

Detective Chief Inspector Martyn Cannon, from Operation Remedy, the Avon and Somerset team targeting burglary, drug and knife crime, said: "Avon and Somerset officers, including those from Operation Remedy, worked with colleagues in other areas, including Lincolnshire Police who led this successful prosecution.

"This court result shows how well police services collaborate nationally to bring criminals to justice. These buildings are of great spiritual and historic significance to our communities. The damage caused a great sense of loss and in many cases an ongoing financial burden for refurbishment of the buildings."

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “The outcome of this case highlights the benefits of collaborative working between the police, Crown Prosecution Service, church communities and

Historic England and is an approach we shall continue to use when dealing with metal theft.

“The theft of metal from historic church buildings is a serious and organised crime.

"Removing large areas of lead or copper from roofs has not just a serious financial effect on church communities but a huge effect on their morale.”

Mark Harrison, head of heritage crime strategy for Historic England, said: “The metal stolen will have historic and cultural value and its removal leads to irreparable damage to protected heritage buildings, which is why tackling this problem is so important.”

A Somerset church was also forced to plan costly structural changes after lead ripped from its roof in March last year. St Peter and St Paul's Church in South Petherton was attacked by the thieves who stripped the entire south aisle roof of its lead.

The thefts in Somerset also included the Church of St Edward King and Martyr, Goathurst, Bridgwater; St Mary's Church, Glastonbury; St Giles' Church, Bradford on Tone, Taunton; Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Pitminster and St John the Baptist Church, Wellington.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “The outcome of this case highlights the benefits of collaborative working between the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, church communities and Historic England and is an approach we shall continue to use when dealing with metal theft.

“The theft of metal from historic church buildings is a serious and organised crime.

"Removing large areas of lead or copper from roofs has not just a serious financial effect on church communities but a huge effect on their morale.”

Mark Harrison, head of heritage crime strategy for Historic England, said: “The metal stolen will have historic and cultural value and its removal leads to irreparable damage to protected heritage buildings, which is why tackling this problem is so important.”