Lead thieves target Newbury street

Police appeal for witnesses after six buildings had lead ripped from their roofs last Wednesday (August 31)

LEAD thieves targeted several buildings in Newbury causing thousands of pounds of damage on Wednesday (August 31).

Leading was torn from the roofs of six buildings in Cromwell Place and police think the offenders must have been disturbed as some lead was later found dumped in a nearby wheelie bin.

One business that was hit was Aspects Salon.

Beauty therapist Jemma Martin, who was the first to discover the damage when she arrived for work at 9am the following day, said that it appeared that the offenders knew what they were doing, as they had neatly stacked the roof tiles in a pile before tearing out the leading. She said the lead would probably be sold off for about £200 but said the damage caused to the salon could run into thousands of pounds worth.

“It's quite annoying because it's needless damage,” she said, adding: “All the expense of the repair is ridiculous.

“This happened not long after we had an attempted break-in, it's not nice.

“There's rubble everywhere but we cannot touch it until the police have finished with it.

“We have clients back in already because we cannot let this affect the salon.”

During the raid, the offenders had taken the tiles off the roof, damaged the rendering and bricks had fallen off the roof and damaged other parts of the building.

Thames Valley Police is now appealing for witnesses to the incidents, which occurred between 5pm and 7.15am overnight on Wednesday, August 31.

Anyone with information should contact the police on non-emergency number 0845 8 505 505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

For more on this story, see Thursday's Newbury Weekly News.