A BRAZEN thief wearing a hi-vis jacket stole lead from roof of a house porch and a business premises, causing hundreds of pounds of damage.

CCTV footage shows a young man arriving at the scene on Bury Road in Breightmet on a scooter.

The culprit managed to climb up and rip lead off from the roof of a house porch and the top of a neighbouring business premises, bathroom retailer The Wetroom.

After gathering a hoard of lead, he then made off with the metal on his scooter.

Samantha Haslam, 33, lives at the house, and was alerted to the damage by The Wetroom before she checked her video footage.

The Bolton News:

The thief caught on camera on Bury Road in Breightmet

She said: “When I first found out what had happened I was shocked.

“He took lead from the gully which now means rain is running down the side of the two buildings.

“Whoever did it must have been a chancer and a bit desperate to do that.

“It is not a nice thing to do and it is going to cost quite a bit of money to repair.”

Samantha, who said the thief also pulled roof render off – causing further damage – shared the footage online in an appeal to identify the offender and warn others.

She added: “He was in hi-vis but at that time anyone who might have saw him would question whether he was there to do a job.”

The theft happened at around 6am on Wednesday, December 2.

Director of The Wetroom, Ian Jackson, said the damage will cost the business hundreds.

Mr Jackson said: “He literally took lead from all three sides of our building.

“He then popped the lead on his scooter and drove off.

“He has got about £10-worth of lead when it took him half an hour to get it off.

“It will cost us £500 to replace the damage though.

“All businesses are struggling at the moment and we are having to spend money on repairs that we shouldn’t have to be doing.”

If you have any information about the theft contact police on 101. Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.