Inset: Revd Dr Keith Brindle; main, from bottom left, damage to St James' roof, St James' Church, Winchester Crown Court Pictures: ST JAMES' CHURCH/GOOGLE/NEWSQUEST
A CHURCH roof lead thief who was caught red handed by the vicar and a lay preacher after they saw a pair of legs dangling from the building has been jailed.
Sending Claude Denham to prison for 14 months, Judge Angela Morris told the 30-year-old that thefts of lead risked “destroying the fabric” of historic buildings.
Together with Jason Wynter, Denham was caught stealing metal from the roof of St James’ Church, Devizes, in September 2019.