Ilford man given community order after stealing lead from churches including at Witham-on-the-Hill, Manton, Egleton and Cotterstock

A man has been given a two year community order after being found guilty of stealing lead sheeting from 15 churches, including five in the area.

Madalin Gabriel Prundaru, 26, of Redbridge Lane East, Ilford, had denied 18 charges of theft.

But in March a jury at Lincoln Crown Court found him guilty of all 18 charges after deliberating for over four hours.

He appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday (April 28), where the judge gave him the community order.

He was part of a group of three in which two others have been previously jailed.

Gigi Prundaru previously admitted 31 offences and was sentenced to a total of six years and one month imprisonment while Laurentiu Rebeca admitted 24 offences and was jailed for four years and 10 months.

All the offences took place during a spate of attacks by groups of men on churches between May and August, 2016.

A complex investigation then followed, led by Lincolnshire Police, which resulted in the group being charged with a total of 47 offences that took place across the country.

Among those churches in Lincolnshire which were targeted was St Nicholas Church at Walcot, near Folkingham, which fell victim to thieves twice in late August 2016, and St Andrew's Church, Witham-on-the-Hill which caused £150,000 worth of damage

Two other churches near Sleaford, St Botolph's in Newton and The Church of St Denys in Kirkby la Thorpe, were targeted in that same period.

Eleven other churches across the Midlands fell victim to lead thefts.

This included two churches in Rutland, St Mary's at Manton and St Edmund's at Egleton.

A further two churches in Oxfordshire, St Andrew's Church in Kingham and St Giles Church at Wigginton, St Nicholas Church in Fyfield in Wiltshire, two churches in Northamptonshire, including St Margaret's Church at Luddington, which was struck twice, and St Andrew's Church at Cotterstock.

And four churches in Leicestershire. They included St Mary's at Wyfordby, St Mary's at Garthorpe, All Saints Church in Beeby and St Peter and Paul's Church at Sywell which was struck twice.

The value of the damage caused was £1.25 million.

In total the group were charged with 100 thefts or attempted thefts from 40 different churches, and, of these, 73 offences resulted in conviction. The other offences were allowed by the court to be laid on file.

The conclusion of the case was delayed initially due to the European Arrest Warrant process and then delays awaiting trial due to lockdown, a backlog of cases from the pandemic, and barrister strikes.

Reporting restrictions were put in place which meant details could not be released until the last defendant, Prandaru, appeared at court for trial.

Investigating officer Dc Andrew Woodcock of Lincolnshire Police said: “This was a painstaking enquiry into large scale organised criminality.

“Offences were identified through detailed investigation, piecing together mobile phone communications data, and ANPR evidence of vehicles linked to the defendants.

“It was identified that the defendants would travel back to London and weigh the lead in for a fraction of its true value.

“Nevertheless, they benefitted to around £70,000 from the offences but caused significant distress to the local communities of the churches they targeted. Some of these churches, four years later, are still completing repairs.”