THIEVES have left members of a village church with a hefty repair bill after stealing a small amount lead from the building's roof.
The vandals stripped metal from the porch of Holy Trinity Church on Halifax Road in Thurgoland.
Assistant churchwarden Alan Kershaw was told by police that the amount of lead taken has a street value of about £20 but he believes it will take about £300 to repair the damage.
"It was a ridiculously small amount of lead," he said. "Luckily we think they were disturbed or it could have been much worse.
"I'd have paid them £20 not to do it."
The porch roof will be repaired with a lead substitute and the church has already been offered £200 from a community fund towards the cost.
