Insurers Congregational and General are urging churches to be extra vigilant after a rise in the number of thefts of lead and other valuable metals from church buildings.
It warned that thieves are using technology such as Google Earth to scout out potential churches.
Figures indicate the thousands of churches have been affected by thieves wanting to strip their roofs of lead to sell on illegally to customers in emerging economies. While in 2002, the insurer received just 12 claims for metal thefts from churches, by 2008 that figure had leapt to more than 2,500....