Father jailed for lead theft

A Black Country father has been jailed for 10 weeks for stealing lead from Dudley Zoo buildings and a church near Wolverhampton.

Aaron Safe admitted taking the metal from an 1800s stone building and toilet block at Dudley Zoo and the roof of All Saints Church, Trysull.

He was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for the church theft and nine weeks for the taking of lead from Dudley Zoo in Castle Hill.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The unemployed father-of-one pleaded guilty to the two charges at a previous hearing.

Safe, aged 28, of Padarn Close, Sedgley, was one of two men who had been seen on the roof of the church building, in School Road, on September 2 by a member of the public, Cannock magistrates heard.

He was seen stripping lead flashing from the roof and rolling it up to make it easier to transport.

Police were called and Safe identified as one of the men on the roof.

Safe was also one of four men who had climbed on the roof of a building at Dudley Zoo on October 31 and stripped away lead, magistrates were told.

Police were called after their vehicle was spotted on a car park near the zoo.

The other three men had been arrested at the scene and Safe later on the same day.

Mrs Sonia Durrant-Clarke, prosecuting, said significant damage had been caused to the roof of the zoo buildings and meant they were no longer weather proof.

"The amount of the lead taken from the zoo was worth around £300 but the damage left ran into thousands of pounds," she said.

Mr Steve Hamblett, defending, said Safe had fallen in with a bad crowd after losing his job.

"He had debts and in pursuit of a quick fix to get money got involved in this."