AN INCREASE in thefts of lead and stone from homes in Padiham has prompted police to warn residents to be vigilant against the crime.

Burnley and Padiham Neighbourhood Policing Team have warned people to watch out for offenders looking to steal lead flashing and coping stones and asked for any suspicious activity to be reported to them on 101.

In August 2013, thieves targeted a quiet Burnley graveyard for the second time in a year after driving off with valuable stoneworks from burial plots.

The intruders at Haggate Baptist Church’s cemetery escaped with pieces of York stone, laid over vaults at the Nelson Road site. The grave robbers also laid 12 stones beside headstones, ready to be carted away.

Earlier in the year, thieves also struck at homes in Bacup, Colne, Foulridge, Waterfoot and Haslingden.

A Burnley Police spokesman said: “We have had an increase in thefts of lead flashing and coping stones from properties in the Padiham area.”