BURGLARS stole chrome taps, copper piping, electrical cable and a quantity of lead from a roof from a building site in Sherborne.

The raid happened along Lenthay Road between Thursday, April 28 and Tuesday, May 3, at the site, which will eventually become multi-occupancy retirement homes.

Police are appealing for witnesses and would also like to speak with anyone who may have been offered sets of chrome taps for an unusually cheap price or in unusual circumstances.

Six thefts in a row from St Joseph’s Church in Wool have landed the church community with a repair bill of £20,000 in February in this year.

In the same month, lead thieves struck at St George’s in Fordington, Dorchester, and stripped off eight lightning conductors in an overnight raid.

Other Dorset churches targeted for their metal include St Mary’s Church in Puddletown and All Saints Church in Wyke Regis, which both had lead stripped from their roofs in August, plus Sydling St Nicholas and the 13 Century St Mary’s Church in Piddlehinton earlier in the year.

Last July, Milborne St Andrew First School community were devastated when thieves ripped lead off a roof which caused thousands of pounds of rain damage to six new computers.