Caught Red Handed? No Problem!

A church in South Yorkshire had suffered such a plague of lead thieves
that the roof had been stripped of lead worth £100,000. Villagers mounted a watch, and were delighted to spot three men on the roof - in balaclavas and masks – with lead taken off and rolled up nearby ready to be taken away.

So they called the police, who arrived and arrested them. Right? Err, no:

But to the astonishment of residents they only got a caution because officers decided they may just have been admiring the view.

Churchwarden's wife Carole Robinson says 85 per cent of the lead on the roof has been taken.

She added: 'It was beyond belief. The police said they could claim they had only gone up to look at the view. It left people furious.”

Perhaps the villagers would have been better off alleging a Health and Safety breach instead of theft...?