A LANDLORD who was refurbishing his pub discovered that thieves had stolen lead from the roof causing more than £2,500 of damage.

Harrison Clayton, from the Market Hotel, in Brackley Street, Farnworth, only took over the pub in October and was partway through completing updates when he noticed water dripping down the chimney stack and into the property after heavy rain.

After calling in a roofer to make temporary repairs, Mr Clayton discovered the theft and found a number of tiles around the roof had been smashed.

The 29-year-old has spent more than £12,000 on the newly refurbished pub, which opened in November and has put measures in place to stop the water causing further damage, but fully repairing the roof with a water-proof membrane to replace the lead is likely to cost more than £2,500.

“It’s very frustrating especially with all the effort that has gone into it,” Mr Clayton said.

“I’m a small independent business owner, everything’s been done on a budget.

“When you’ve got everything looking really nice and you’re ready to open and then you find out there’s been vandalism it’s completely heartbreaking.”

The discovery of the missing lead comes shortly after a similar theft was found at Farnworth Town Hall and Mr Clayton thinks the incidents likely occurred at the same time.

He said: “It could have been before I got the place but there had been no reports that we were aware of so I think it probably happened around five weeks ago when other buildings in Farnworth were done.”

The lead on the portico at Farnworth Town Hall was taken by a teenager, who was caught in the act but local councillors Paul Sanders and Jean Gillies stressed that repairing the listed building had to be a priority.

At a planning committee meeting, both councillors approved the use of “Ubiflex”, a lead replacement product which is often used as flashing on buildings where lead theft has taken place.

During the meeting, planning chief Paul Whittingham stressed the importance of people knowing that there is no longer lead on the roof to prevent attempted thefts or damage in the future.

Lead theft has been an ongoing problem for many building owners, with thieves targeting older buildings and selling the metal on.