A TOWN centre church will have to foot a £10,000 repair bill after being hit by thieves for a third time in two months.

Staff at the United Reform Church of St Andrew and St George, in St George’s Road, arrived at the building yesterday morning to find thieves had used scaffolding to reach the roof of the grade-II listed building and steal a quantity of lead.

The church has been undergoing external rescaling and cleaning work since last year, when a section of the spire was damaged and fell, and the thieves had twice before used scaffolding from the work to scale the building.

Minister the Rev Mark Bates explained that repairs after the first incident, on August 2, had cost around £1,500, with a second theft on September 18 adding another £3,500 bill.

Alongside the cost of repairing water damage caused by the lack of lead and replacing the stolen section of rood with a water-proof substitute, the reverend said the sum would exceed £10,000.

He said: “The people that have done this are taking money away from more vulnerable members of society. We normally look to give around £5,000 to £10,000 a year to local charities.

“But, the money that it’s going to cost us is going to stop us from supporting the more vulnerable of our town. For me it’s the scrap metal merchants that are the problem, if they didn’t take the lead there wouldn’t be an issue.”

Building manager Les Shorrock added: “When we put the scaffolding up at the front they took a section from the lead gully near the spire. They have ripped the slates up and then the lead.”

Mr Shorrock first heard of the latest theft when it was reported to him that people had been seen on the roof.

Rev. Bates approached the church’s insurers to see if they would cover the cost of repairs, but has been told that no money will be available because the roof was reached via scaffolding that the church commissioned.

As well as the church, the historic building also houses a charity shop, although this has escaped water damage so far.

All three incidents have been reported to Greater Manchester Police and inquiries into the thefts are ongoing. Anyone with information can contact officers on 101.