A prolific gang who stripped the lead from dozens of rural churches across England were today jailed for a total of 22 years.
The four Romanian men, who were all living in the West Midlands, targeted churches from Somerset to North Yorkshire during a two-year crime spree which left churches facing repair bills totalling more than £2million.
Among those counties hit hardest during the two-year crime spree were Lincolnshire, Somerset, Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire.
The thieves also took lead from churches in Dorset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
In March last year police arrested three of the men, all living in the West Midlands, after a specialist operation involving several forces.
Muted New Year celebrations in tier 4 Lincolnshire
One was a false alarm, but one party broken up in Cleethorpes
Lincolnshire Police didn’t have to deal with any major COVID tier 4 lockdown breaches on New Year’s Eve, and one ‘party’ they were called to turned out to be two people watching re-runs of Countdown.
Lincolnshire moved into tier 4 on Thursday, December 31, while North East Lincolnshire remained in tier 3 and there had been some concerns that trouble would flare up. Both tiers prohibit indoor socialising.
When asked if any New Year’s parties were broken up, or if they had to deal with any trouble on Thursday night, Lincolnshire Police said there weren’t any incidents of this nature.
South Holland put under weekend dispersal order to target hare coursers
| Updated: 12:16, 11 December 2020
Police have put a dispersal order in place across South Holland this weekend to try and stop hare coursers from entering the area.
Under the order, which also applies to Boston and East Lindsey over the next two days, anyone suspected of hare coursing or who is in the process of letting dogs loose on farmland in the area, will be ordered out of Lincolnshire.
The order also gives police the power to act if someone fails to obey, or returns to the area within the 48-hour period, as they will be deemed to have committed an offence.