ONE of the city’s oldest churches was left with water pouring in after thieves stole the lead roof.

As a result two funerals had already been cancelled at St Michael's Church in St Albans as the Review went to press The vicar, Reverend Brett Gray, told the Review: “It is quite distressing. They took about half the lead and smashed tiles. We have put up tarpaulins but the water is still coming in.”

With the church unusable, two grieving families were forced to move funerals elsewhere and Reverend Gray fears the church will have to raise the £50,000 repair cost because its insurance has been deemed invalid due to scaffolding being erected around it while building work was carried out.

The theft happened in the early hours of Monday morning at approximately 2am. Most of the roof was stolen, but the thieves were disturbed by a homeless man known as James who was staying the church at the time.

He was disturbed at by one of the thieves who informed him that he was a security employee working for the scaffolding firm and asked him to move on.

Suspicion got the better of James and within half an hour he knocked on the Vicarage door to check the validity of the story. The lights coming on at the Vicarage appear to have scared the thieves who immedaitely left leaving a lot of the lead behind.

The vicar added: “It was thanks to him they only got about half the lead. He is petrified now – he doesn't want to sleep there again in case they come back.

“We don't know when we are going to be able to use the church again, and the water coming in is probably causing even more damage. It is very, very sad.”