CHURCH officials found water pouring through the roof of their building after lead thieves struck.

Raiders caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage when they stripped off metal from the top of Crosland Hill Methodist Church on Crosland Hill Road.

Property chairman Graham Turton discovered the damage when he went to the church.

“The carpet was wet through and there was water dripping through the roof,” he said.

“There was a leak before and we had some buckets out to collect it, but the buckets were overflowing and the carpet was sodden.”

The building had been empty since Sunday’s service.

Some of the lead that had been stripped off the roof had been left in rolls at the scene.

The church is now having non-lead covering put on the roof to deter thieves from targeting it again.

Mr Turton added: “We are absolutely gutted. Churches seem to be a target at the moment. I know we can claim on insurance, but that’s not the point.”

The Methodist Mission on Lord Street in the town centre was also hit by lead thieves this week.

The thieves struck in the early hours of Monday.

But Alan Boyd, the minister of both churches, said services would not be interrupted.