Plaques from war memorial stolen from beleaguered church

Three brass plaques naming Balby's war dead from the First World War onwards have been stolen from the monument in the grounds of St John the Evangelist Church.

The theft is the latest attack on the church and has angered both church and community leaders.

Father Brian Inston said: “This memorial has been here since 1919 and has never been attacked before, but earlier in the year thieves stole lead worth 350 from the church roof and it’s going to cost us 12,000 just to replace it.

“We think they thought the plates were copper which you can sell to China - but in fact they are brass. You just can’t understand why people would do this."

Balby councillor Garth Oxby said: “It's most upsetting. You cannot understand how people can do things like this. It is an act of sacrilege. I just hope they are caught and are given due punishment.”

The theft of lead from the roof of the church on Greenfield Lane earlier in the summer also led to the building being flooded.

The war memorial was attacked overnight on Monday.