A church in Newport has been left devastated after thieves stole lead from its roof, causing up to £4,000 worth of damage.
The All Saints Church on Brynglas Road sustained the damage over the Bank Holiday weekend, when it discovered lead had been taken from its roof.
Reverend Rebecca Stevens, Newport North Ministry team leader, said: "The roof was fine on Friday, but not earlier this week when we came in after the weekend, so we suspect it was done over the Bank Holiday.
"They've stripped lead from the roof, but the slates were removed quite badly which has caused water damage to the church too."
Reverend Stevens said that although only £30 worth of lead was stolen, the damage caused by their removal has been considerable.
"The builder has estimated that the way they were removed means there has been damage of up to £4,000 done to the roof.
"This has been a hard knock for us all as finances are tight."
Thankfully, Reverend Stevens said they had managed to sufficiently secure the church enough to continue services while work is done to repair the roof.
"Our focus has immediately been on weatherproofing the church, so we can still hold services.
"We've cleared everything we need to, and thankfully the pressing need to reopen after lockdown means we will be able to have the work done without disturbing the services themselves.
"We have to, we don't have a choice."
A statement from Gwent Police said: "We're investigating the theft of lead from All Saints Church on Brynglas Road, Newport, which is reported to have been taken sometime between 5pm on August 28 and 11pm on August 30.
"Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting 2000317842 or to direct message us via our Facebook or Twitter pages."
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